Last weekend’s gallivanting took me from Borough Street to Greenwich (through the course of two days). The first held yet another market, but one to tempt the stomach. Costco style samples of gourmet sausages, cheeses, olive oils and so forth tickled my tummy in the best sense of course. My browsing buddy and I settled on soup (she: a vegetable brew and me: tomato basil), and we ate in the shadow of an ornate cathedral, topped with many stylized crosses.
The following day, for a change of pace, was museum centered. Greenwich offered both the Royal Observatory and National Maritime Museum. I was also fortunate enough to have a local chap narrate what it was that I was seeing (his descriptions made the museum plaques’ pale in comparison). First up was Flamsteed House, a brick building sporting a Rudolph nose aka “one of the World's earliest public time signals” according to the Visitor Map. Bordering the House, which was "built for the purpose of finding longitude at sea," were examples of technological advances in telescoping. And as a side note...also set foot on Longitude 0 degrees 0'0'', Prime Meridian of the World. No big deal!
Next up me mateys was the nautical themed museum. Inside were scraps left over from a beauty of a vessel, the Implacable, the Upper Deck Collection (sailors dined in style as evidenced by the silver and gold platters, saucers, etc.), propellers and displays articulating the sea’s hold on man. The highlight was a navy coat worn by “[Horatio] Nelson when he fell at Trafalgar, with the fatal bullet hole clearly visible." He was deservedly a decorated fellow, and Trafalgar Square commemorates Nelson.
Rounding off the day, we stopped at the Trafalgar pub, and I had myself a cider, whilst lit coals warmed my side and Thames aglow captured my eye. Come nightfall, we boarded a river cruise and marveled at central London’s landmarks. Their illumination made for an electrical parade.
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