Greenwich, What Are the Polar Bears doing on the Thames?!?!

So today was another glorious Monday without any classes. Today for the adventure, I went out ot Greenwich with two friends who also don't have classes. One of the best parts of this trip was our method of getting to Greenwich. Instead of taking the tube like a regular person, we decided to take a cruise up the Thames instead! It was so much fun to see London from the River. There were some amazing views of Parliament, Big Ben, the Eye, St. Pauls, and just about every other major building in Central London. The harmony of old and new still ceases to amaze me. Going up the river today, there were buildings probably built in the 18th century or before and some built last year. The amazing fact is they all somehow blend together. Another random experience today was on the way over, by the Tower Bridge, there were two statues of a polar bear and a cub on a glacier being toted around by a boat. I don't quite know what they were doing on the Thames, but it was pretty funny to see them floating along.

Arriving in Greenwich, we went to the National Maritime museum. We saw some amazing small ships they had intact at the museum to Nelson's coat that he was shot and killed in. There was actually an entire wing dedicated to Nelson. I discovered that Nelson actully had one arm amputated at sea, and later led the British armada with one arm. Now his statue is on top of Trafalger square, right outside of our classroom building! I still have to pinch myself when walking to class, right through the heart of London. There was one small section in the museum dedicated to the discovery of America, and then the American revolution. It was a lot of fun to see a more British side to the Revolution Americans celebrate.

After the Maritime museum, we went to have an amazing panini at a cafe, and after that we went to the Queen's House and the Royal Observatory where the Prime Meridian is! The Queen's house had some of the most incredible and beautiful architecture I've ever seen. The main spiral staircase is Amazing! There was white and black check tiles everywhere. Unfortunatately you cannot take any pictures, so I was empty in the Queen's House. Another fun fact about the Queen's house is supposedly it is the building that the White House was modeled after. So it was really cool to see some of the similarities.

We then went to the Royal Observatory, where the Prime Meridian runs through. After taking a copious amount of touristy pictures, we took a look around the museum there showing pretty much the history of the first Star Charts, to the first clocks / chronometers. It has just been incredible to see so many different tidbits of the worlds history and Britian's culture. I am just so blessed to be in this incredible city and have the opporunity to experience so much! Tomorrow's a new week of classes which can only be filled with even more exciting opportunities and adventures!