Monday, March 06, 2006

Greenwich

A few Sunday's ago, Liam, Kelly, Dave and Karen set off on a grand adventure to Greenwich. The long difficult journey started off with two train rides, followed by a long walk under water (through a tunnel of course!) and then a quick sailing trip on the boat pictured below.


Just kidding! The last time this boat was in the sea was 1938.

But we really did go to Greenwich! As you can see by the photos it was a beautiful day and there were lots of people out enjoying the sunshine and history of Greenwich.


After a short pit stop at the Visitors Centre to gather supplies (ie food and coffee!) we set off down the tree lined paths.

The first place we saw was the Old Royal Naval College. This is the site where Mary I, Henry VIII and Elizabeth I were born. The above building houses the Painted Hall (see the picture below). These paintings were originally done in the early 1800's. As well there was beautiful chapel dating back to the late 1700's. We couldn't take any photos, but the history, detail in the art and stone work and peacefulness of this place was stunning.

We also walked past the Trinity College of Music and as we walked though the court yard we were treated to some beautiful piano playing.




This is a picture of Queens' House. It was built for one Queen who died before it was finished, so the next one got to live in it and she fell in love with it. Even though it doesn't look like much of a royal residence it is quite spacious and beautiful inside. Next it became a boarding house for the Royal Naval College. It is now a museum / art gallery; and next it will become the site for the equestrian events for the 2012 Olympics. A very versatile house indeed!

Good old Captain Cook striking a pose for all to see!

The building at the top of the hill is the Royal Observatory. This is where Greenwich Mean Time was originally measured from.

Liam is in the western hemisphere and Kelly is in the eastern hemisphere! The clock behind us is an atomic clock that shows the exact time, in hours, minutes and seconds.

A close up view of the Royal Observatory.

This the main street of Greenwich, looking back towards the main church.

The pub we had lunch in was literally the first pub in the west!

Photos that didn't make it:

  • The clock that has 24 hour marks on it - very different!
  • The markets that Karen and Kelly manage to sneak through and make a purchase or two!
  • The amazing views of the city from the top of the hill!
  • The very old astronomy tools used to chart the skies.
  • The four crazy tourists running full speed down the grassy hill without falling over! (Rolling down like you did when you were a kid was an option considered but luckily not followed through with!)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hi Ms Davies! your trip looks awesome... especially that dog for St Patrick's day!! Missing you heaps... form isn't the same without you! Hope you're having an awesome time! Love you heaps, and can't wait to see you again next year!
Sophie
P.S. We got your bus postcard. it was really cool!