The Prime Meridian of the World!

Greenwich was absolutely lovely yesterday. Brianna, Janet, Hallie and I (all CMD buddies) hopped on the bus at 10:30 and zipped around the relatively uncrowded London learning a bit more about familiar and unfamiliar landmarks. We first circled around Westminster and learned about Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey and a couple more. Then on through the strand along the Thames in the direction of the City. I had never been through this end of London before. I'll have to walk around some other time, but I did get a wonderful view of the tower of London and the Tower Bridge. Through the city into the East Side our tour guide told us of the history of London and the major events that helped make London what it is today.

Greenwich is about 6 miles downstream from where we started. We got off the buses on the north side of the Thames and took a Victorian era walking tunnel under the river. When you hear Victorian you think of a certain aesthetic. This bridge was certainly not of this aesthetic. It was literally a damp tile tube. I enjoyed it all the same!

Emerging from the tunnel I find myself in the middle of Greenwich. It was a sunny day and though the trees were bare the lawns were green. Soggy, but green. If you think about it, I had never yet been outside of the real dense metropolitan part of London, and though I'm pretty sure Greenwich is still technically London, is had a much quainter feel to it. My other room mates who went on the trip spent the day in museums. We spent it in markets!

When I go thrifting or to markets in the states I might enjoy ogling at objects that originate from the '70s, '60s or '50s. The objects being sold in this market easily and often dated back to the 1800's. It was fantastic. I really enjoyed the crafts that I saw. The Greenwich markets can offer some very good deals. I got a very nice blanket for my bed for £10. However, I also made an investment in a coat that I fell in love with. That was not such a deal, but still a good purchase. This coat is a knee length brown felt coat made by this Italian lady. It was such an experience trying it on and having her insist on buttoning it up for me and pull it here and there until I had put it on right. I turned around and all my buddies made a collective approval sound. Talk about peer pressure. Ha ha. Well, I wouldn't let this lady sell me anything. I tried on two nearly identical coats before I found the one that fit me perfectly. It's very soft, very warm and very London. I'm a bit in love with it. Ever since I bought it, however, I've been paying extra close attention to the money I've been spending on food and the like. I splurged in one place. Gonna be extra reasonable in another.

After the markets we met up with the guide again so she could take us to the Prime Meridian of the World. I learned about longitude and latitude and how they can be used to pinpoint a ship's location in the sea. We got to see different tries at making the perfect clock for ship captains. Most importantly, we got to straddle the meridian. I'll put up the pictures soon!

Today is my first day of classes. I have my Inter Disciplinary Design Studio this morning. The rest of the afternoon is free. I'll have to think of something to do. The BBC told me this morning that psychologist have determined that today is the most depressing day of the year. Good luck with that one everybody. More again soon!