London 12/30/18

Today we took a lovely boat ride down the Thames to Greenwich.  We had a guide on the boat who explained a number of items of interest along the way.  I got a different photo of the London Eye.  We sailed under the Tower Bridge and passed by the old dock area where goods were brought in by ship from all over the world.  I took a picture of the Cutty Sark, a wool clipper that traveled from Australia in the 1850-60's.  This area was heavily bombed during WWII so while some of the docks are still there, many areas were turned into housing (about a 15 minutes commute to central London by light rail). 

We traveled at a more leisurely pace and arrive at Greenwich in 45 minutes.  While it was a cloudy day, it was not raining so we enjoyed the day.  We walked up the King's Steps - where royalty from other countries would walk up to some lovely homes to stay the night before traveling the next day to London.  We poked our heads into a lovely chapel which was featured in "Four Weddings and a Funeral". 

We then walked through a large park where the equestrian part of the 2012 Olympics was held and then continued up a long steep hill to reach the Royal Observatory.  This is the site of Greenwich Mean Time and the Prime Meridian.  We stood with one foot in the eastern hemisphere and one in the western to have our pictures taken. 

The museum was quite interesting and featured some of the first marine clocks and instruments of navigation. There was also a 24-hour clock that was quite interesting. 

 After touring the observatory we boarded coach busses to return to the Tower of London.  Dave and I split off from the group so that he could have a nap (we also have been to the Tower a couple of times on previous trips).  The Tower was the site of many imprisonments and beheadings, including two of Henry VIII's wives.  On our way to the tube station, we passed the ruins of a Roman gatehouse associated with the Roman wall which enclosed one square mile of the city. 

 When Dave was rested we took the tube to the British Museum to see the Sutton Hoo exhibit.  This was a 7th century burial hoard including a wonderful helmet.  There were many jeweled and gold items found in the hoard.  The amazing thing was that the burial place was in a room built on a ship and buried under a mound of earth.  By the time it was discovered in the late 1930's, the wooden ship was gone, but the imprint of it was found in the surrounding soil with the treasure scattered about under where the room was located.  Unfortunately, I left my camera in the room so did not get any pictures inside the museum.  We stopped for dinner on the way back and are now just chilling until time for bed.  Amy and family will come back to the hotel later and we will see them at breakfast tomorrow.