These are the banks of the Yellow Sea;
Where it rose, or whither it rushes,
These are the western mystery!
Strews the landing with opal bales;
Merchantmen poise upon horizons,
Dip, and vanish with fairy sails.
At the front of the palace we saw (and heard) a guy chained to the top of the gates. He was chanting something along the lines of “Rights for Dads”. Jenny told me that he was a part of a collection of men lobbying for the rights of divorced/separated fathers who want more visitation rights with their kids.
We first stopped at the Royal Mews to check out the carriages and stables that tow British royalty around town. This Carriage was the largest- so large in fact that when they take it out for use, the have to remove that wall you see on the other side of the horses. I love British practicality!
The Queen names all of her horses, and she traditionally names them after places she has visited. This guy was named Ensign, hence my desire to photograph him (he looks like a much smarter version than me when I carried that title).
Next door is the Queen’s Gallery. Mercifully nothing like the Louvre, it is so small that you need to reserve a time slot in order to see the paintings- which were almost as lovely as the excellent paint choices of the rooms. I love this red!
Once you exit the palace and arrive at the gardens, you can do two things: take photos, and use the royal restroom. I chose to take photos.
This pic is for my friend Annie. It is her fault that I bought these earrings, and found it only fitting to wear them on my royal day out.
Walking through the gardens was really serene. I so appreciate greenery and the general absence of noise. I think I might fancy living in a palace someday- just so long as I have an army of maintainers at my disposal.
Jenny gets the vote for best hostess ever. After my run, she made me tea, eggs, smoked salmon and horseradish sauce on toasted muffins. THIS is why breakfast is my favorite meal of the day! A good breakfast makes me incredibly happy.
While I was finishing my morning run ritual, Jenny picked me up some Vitamin Water: “I thought you might like this flavor” she said. I looked at the name and asked if she picked it because of my military status. “No, I just know you like red things”. She’s right, I do love color…just as my nail polish seen here is called “Plugged-In Plum”. I also drink lots of Sugar-Free Purple Kool-Aid back in Dakar. Mmmm…thanks, Jenny!
We were going tho check out the Cutty Sark, but unfortunately she is much like the rest of London: under renovation. Thank you, Olympics! Still, this is a photo of her taken near Falmouth…that’s Falmouth, England- but still pretty cool if you ask me.
Yeah…looks like I’m not getting aboard this 150 year old clipper ship. I’ll have to come back!
A short walk up a steep hill and we are rewarded with great views of London, courtesy of the Royal Observatory (remember, I ran 10 miles this morning!).
You’ve heard of Greenwich Mean Time- well this is where it all begins. GMT is a term originally referring to mean solar time at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London. In military parlance, we call it zulu time.
I’m seeing lots of sundials in Europe, this is another one that I found to be very cool. The midpoint of the tips of the dolphins fins reflect down onto the dial plate and serve as the pointer (or gnomon) indicating the correct time. Dad, what do you think?
I’m not biased or anything, but I kinda like this Royal Observatory, also known as the Old Royal Navy Observatory.
Lots of old time measurements, long before the concept of Global Positioning ever came into thought. Or maybe it did. These guys were pretty innovative…
This is an Astronomical Quadrant. It measures the altitude of celestial objects above the horizon. A telescope is usually alongside.
Outside the buildings of the Observatory is where the main act can be found. The basis of longitude, the Prime Meridian, was born right here.
Check it out- you’d think we’d arrived at Greenwich’s version of Graceland!
Of course I too was more than happy to queue up in the name of standing on an imaginary line that holds the entire world together. (Unfortunately, the only socks that I remembered to pack for this trip were my running socks…so I figured I might as well take the Ridiculous Factor full tilt and remove my shoes off for a photo.
Jenny and I posing next to the big metal pointy thing. Wikipedia tells me that there is now a more modern prime meridian, and it also tells me that this was the site of an attempted bombing attack in 1894 by a French terrorist. The French- quelle surprise.
As we approached the musuem, I could something glinting at regular intervals in the glass annex on the left. Hmm…
We head inside (this place is free!) and take a look around at my bread and butter displays of nautical history.
I know, I’m a sucker for all of this stuff. I think I love it because it kind of looks like the inside of the Hatchville Shipyard.
They’ve got Lord Nelson’s old uniform on display. Lucky for me, a previous deployment on USS WINSTON S. CHURCHILL allowed me to explore HMS Victory in Portsmouth about ten years ago. But that was well before the advent of blogging…Hell, I still had a film camera back then!
The museum has lots of fantastic quotes. This one’s my favorite.
Remember that glinty thing that I saw from the exterior? Well, I got to check it out up close as I sat in the museum cafe and contemplated centuries of tradition…and the apple pie that reminded me of autumn.
As we were buying our tickets at RADA, I noticed to my chagrin that Krispy Kreme donuts had made it to England. These things aren’t even good- and there are so many better-tasting things in this country (like brown scones)! Mon dieu…
A quick ride on the Eurostar and before I know it I am back in Gare du Nord and speaking French again.