London - Greenwich

So I left you last time at the Greenwich Visitor's Center & let me assure you that's a lovely place to be abandoned. It's all sparkly and new and more than just a visitor's center, it's a little mini museum about Greenwich & its royal history. Henry VIII was born in Greenwich & it was apparently his favourite place to live. His old palace is no longer standing - the Old Naval College sits on the grounds where it used to be. This summer Greenwich will be hosting Olympic and Paralympic Equestrian and Olympic Modern Pentathlon events so the area was all in a tizzy of cleaning, painting and getting ready for visitors.
 

Here's Amelia with a statue of Sir Walter Raleigh. 

Hugo & Roo checking out a cannon. 

And then we walked a few blocks down to the actual museum. Greenwich is very quaint and has a little bit of a village feel to it. It was a nice change from the busy loud streets of central London.

the museum 

 

This is the Royal Coat of Arms at the entrance. 

This is the stern gallery of the HMS Implacable which was originally a French ship and was in the Battle of Trafalgar on the French side. She was subsequently captured & then fought the rest of the Napoleonic Wars on the British side. And can I just say that Implacable is a great domain name? If I ever get bored of Indefatigable, you'll know where to find me. 

This is a royal barge that was used on the Thames. 

 

This was a ship simulator. Hugo had a go. 

 

 

 

Back outside, a really large ship in a large bottle. 

And then we climbed the hill to the Greenwich Observatory. You can see here the spectator areas that are being prepared for the Olympics. 

TaDa! Greenwich Meridian. There is actually a paid version somewhere above that balcony railing. You can pay a few pounds to go have your picture taken there but of course, the line continues, & down here is what I called the peasants' meridian : free.

We did all take turns straddling it.

Because that's what you do there. 

You also admire the views. 

And consider that navigation hinges on measurements of time & distance.

 

Then on to the observatory where there is also a small astronomy museum.

 

 

 

Here I am with a bit of Canadian History: James Wolfe - he who defeated Montcalm & won Quebec in the Battle of the Plains of Abraham. Both Wolfe & Montcalm died in the battle.This was all part of the Seven Years War. Britain's subsequent assault & win on Montreal forced the French out of North America except for Louisiana & the islands of St Pierre & Miquelon.

enough history - look, dogs! Even a spotted white dog! I think it was a springer spaniel ... It is clearly a favourite place for local dog owners as we saw many dogs running up and down the slopes.

Meanwhile we headed back down the hill and past the scenic Trafalgar Tavern

Outside the tavern is this statue of Nelson & we all posed with him.

 

 

And now here we are on the river cruise boat! The masts of the Cutty Sark are behind us & it's time to travel down the river back to Westminster. 

One last look at Greenwich.

Ahead we get to see a more modern skyline.

There's a reason there's nobody else on the outside deck with us. Oh sure it's sunny but see the sailboats knocked down.

Windy.