Greenwich

Today we went to Greenwich and it was certainly an adventure!! We had to make our own way there ( I guess as a test of our London transport knowledge?) but I realized how completely annoying most Americans really are. There were some other girls from my class traveling close by us and they were LOUD and abnoxious using foul language the whole time on the train! Then when we got to the tube station they couldnt figure out anything to save their lives. I think that those girls would have a hard time navigating their way out of a paper bag...Its really not that hard to read a tube map and figure out where your going!! At least Rachel and Sue and I tried our best to separate ourselves from them and we got there just fine!

Moving on, we got there and took tours of the Queens House, the Painted Hall, and the Chapel at the Old Royal Naval College, which were absolutely beautiful! The architecture and the paintings and ornate details were just so captivating! Our professor was walking next to me through most of the tour and was telling us some cool stories about how the wounded officers would live here and it was a MANS place. Teh funniest story he told us was about a cricket match put on by the men that was the 1 legged officers against the 1 armed officers!!! Evidently the 1 legged officers one? Go figure?

The coolest part of the trip though was learning about the Royal Observatory used to establish longitude for the sailors at sea. We walked up this incredibly steep hill to the top where the obervatory sits. It is so high up ono the hill because London is known for its dirty and unclear air, so it had to be situated on a hill to get a clear look at the stars. Just for the record, yes I did take a picture with one foot in each hemisphere! However, my professor told me that the actual perfect 0 degrees longitude is abotu 200 meters away marked by a dustbin....I guess they didnt want to move all of the touristy things that had already been established! Silly people! There is also a red ball at the top of the conservatory that raises at 12:55pm then drops precisely at 1pm so the sailors down in the docks can reset their clocks to the correct time. In those days, the colck in the Observatory was the most accurate clock in the world!

Anyways, we left after that and walked around Greenwich (which is pronounce Gren- Itch...not Green Witch like those stupid girls I was talking about earlier called it). We found some cute markets and ate at a little mom and pop joint! I got Cottage Pie, which is just Shepards Pie for Englanders! Iwas some serious down home cooking though!

Well here we are, back in the flat. I'm going to be boring and do laundry, study, and read more Shakespeare...I'm a party animal I know!!

OH PS: I spoke Swedish today!! I was buying a water and the cashier was counting my change and I heard her counting in Swedish and I asked her if she was Swedish and then I had a quick 5 sec conversation with her and told her that no, I wasnt swedish but my boyfriend was and he lives in Sodertalje ect ect. It was FUN! I like practicing my new skill!!

Until next time, Cheers!

xoxo Jackie