Christine and I traveled to Greenwich. It's a borough on the far southeast side of London just outside of Canary Wharf where I work. It took about an hour to get to Greenwich from where Christine lives. We stopped by my office so she could check out the view and get to see where I work. The view really is incredible. I will get some pictures eventually. I just don't want to be the spazzy intern with a camera at work during the first few weeks. :)
When we finally made it to Greenwich we browed the very popular market. The stalls had so many unique things to see! Some of the highlights were notebooks created completly from recyced products (very cool designs for the covers), homemade doorstops (very popular here) and handbeaded watches. My favorite booth was run by this older gentlemen. He had been creating his product for about ten years. He first learned this craft from a man who worked in Covent Garden (shopping area in Central London). Anyway, he perfected the craft and now runs a business. He collects old cutlerly. We are talkin' very old here, like century old knives, spoons and forks. He uses a machine to mold the silverware into jewelry. It was incredible. So unique. Of course, I was so fascinated I just had to buy something. I asked what his favorite design was because he had so many different types, probably over 30 fork designs. He pointed out a few that he had personally designed and not just learned. I purchased a fork bracelet of his own design. He said this particular fork was from the 1930s and it took him about 30 minutes to bend the metal to create the design. It was unlike anything I have ever seen before! I paid 15 quid (slang term for pound; like "bucks" for dollars in America) for it and am so glad I did!
Finishing up my bracelet
Forks at the top. Spoons in the middle. Knives at the bottom.
So cool!
After the market we walked through Greenwich park which was right around the corner. The weather was somewhat nice today so it was pretty crowded. Plus, this is somewhat of a touristy part of town so there were a lot of people like us there as well. We walked to the top of the hill to see the overview of the city. You could see so many different parts because we were so far south. It was overlooking the River Thames. It was pretty foggy so the pictures didn't turn out so well. We sat on a park bench at the top of the hill and just people watched for a little while. Of course, I noticed all the adorable couples enjoying the beautiful scenery.
Old Royal Navy College
It was a beautiful building up close. The recent film "National Treasure" was filmed here.
O2 Arena also reffered to as "The Dome"
O2 is a cell phone provider. This is used like Conseco for concerts, conventions, shows, etc. No, it is not under construction, it always looks like that. :)
Christine and I at the top of the hill next to the Maritime Museum (which we had zero interest visitng).
On the way down the hill we passed the Prime Meridan also known as Zero Line of Longitude. It is an imaginary line that runs from the North to South poles. It is used for getting precise measurements of place on Earth and constellations in the sky. This is also where each day "officially" begins. Below is the obligatory tourist photo of me straddling the line.
We wandered through the park and into another market, The Clocktower Market. I bought a few set of earrings and bag. Things were very cheap and it was almost like a flea market. Then we walked back to Greenwich Market (the first one) and bought dinner and one of the booths. I tried Nigerian chicken stew. Delicious! Soo many flavors going on. Markets have the best food, everything is so fresh and cooked by people from all over the world. I could have gotten food from Spain, Italy, Poland, France, Thailand and others.
Yum Time.
We took our lunch to a park bench outside Old Royal Navy College and then explored the area. There was a wedding going on, which may indicate how beautiful the building and surrounding area is. Then we left Greenwich via overground train, transferred to get on the tube and headed to the supermarket before calling it a day.
top of the hill where we got the view of the city and the river
Friday 8 October 2010
After class, I headed to a northern "suburb" (they don't really have that term here but that's what it was) called Hamstead. It's a wealthy part of London. I wanted to check out a really nice park that my guidebook suggests, Hamstead Heath. I spent a couple hours walking around and just seeing another part of the city. Nothing really eventful happened at all. It was just a nice change of pace and I loved getting to see a part of London that is not normally seen my tourists.
At night, a group of us went to a very popular and famous nightclub, Ministry of Sound. Apparently, it's known worldwide. It was a 25 pound cover, but with your student ID you got more than half off. The multi-floor club played techno dance music all night. Sooo much fun! We met people from England, Ireland and Austraila. It was a long night and made for a long day today because we were so tired. It was worth it for sure though!
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