Day 4

I stood in the Eastern and Western Hemispheres of the world at the same time today. The Royal Observatory at Greenwich (one of London’s many burrows) is literally where time began and contains the line that separates the east from the west, also known as the Prime Meridian.



Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is derived from this very place, and all the time zones of the world were developed around 1884 from this very point of 51˚28’38’’ North Latitude and 0˚0’00’’ Longitude. Greenwich is definitely one of my favorite spots I’ve visited so far. I really like learning about the history of places, and with a city like London, there is A LOT to discover.

Greenwich is also home to a now Naval Academy, which used to basically be royal grounds where Henry VIII was born, along with his two daughters, Mary and Elizabeth. We toured the National Maritime Museum which provides a complete Naval History from Elizabethan galleons (Britain is and always has been very proud of its Navy, as the country is surrounded by water and has not been invaded since the time of the Romans.)






We looked around the Queens House, which was designed by Indigo Jones for James I to give to his wife, Ann of Austria, in the 1600s. The Whitehouse in Washington D.C. is modeled after this building.





Around lunch time, we ate at a pub called The King’s Arms. I asked for salmon, but I’m guessing the Irish woman who took my order misunderstood me because I ended up with fish cakes. They were good, but did not include salmon like I had hoped. We then hit up the Greenwich Markets. They were packed!! I’ve never seen that many people in that size space before. We literally would move a foot about every 5 minutes. It was definitely an experience though. I really enjoyed the shopping there. There was a lot of vintage clothing and hand-made pieces. I bought a hand-made scarf and an old, used copy of Emma by Jane Austen. I am Jane’s home country after all. Another highlight of the market area was seeing a restaurant called Tex-Mex. I mean, these people are actually attempting to eat Texas/Mexican cuisine! It's an art, people. It can't be re-created halfway around the world. Allie and I were tempted to go in and ask what we could get for free, being Texan and all.



Then, we came to our senses and figured we probably wouldn't like anything they would give us. Then we would be stuck in the middle of an uncomfortable situation of having to act like it's as good as the real thing, so we decided against it. But it is nice to know I can say that at the place where time began, there is in fact Tex-Mex!

Needless to say, the journey to Greenwich was a success! Getting there was almost as cool as the place itself. We traveled via river boat down the Thames River (pronounced like “Tims”). I was able to see St. Steven’s Tower (Big Ben), Parliament, the London Eye and Tower Bridge from the water. It was amazing. I also learned that Julius Caesar named the Thames River after a God during his rule. Another interesting fact about the river is that it rises and falls around 24 feet every day because of the tide!





Well, school officially starts tomorrow, but I don’t actually have class until Tuesday as you know. Hehehe! I don’t know what I’m going to do with a whole day here. It’s the first day that nothing is scheduled for me, so I plan to go explore the city. I don’t know where I’ll end up, but that’s what is most exciting about traveling to me. There are LOADS of museums in the city (which are all free to visit!) and a zoo that I really want to go to. I’ll just do what I do best – play it by ear! :]