BES Assignment 6

Greenwich & Docklands: British Imperialism, 80's Bust & 90's Boom


For this assignment, we visited Greenwich (Gren-itch). Then we took the DLR via Carary Wharf back to Russell Square.

First we took a boat ride from Westminster Pier up the River Thames to Greenwich. We passed iconic structures such as The London Eye, Parliament and Big Ben, The National Theatre, the OXO Hotel, The Golden Hinde, the London Bridge, and the Tower of London and Tower Bridge. After arriving at Greenwich we glanced around a bit. It is very green. It seemed to me to almost have more park than city. I can see why they chose to film most of Les Miserables in Greenwich, it's beautiful.

We first visited the Royal Observatory. Let me tell you...wear some walking shoes! It is up a very steep hill and there were several times when I said to myself, "surely we are almost there..." It is a long steep walk. And I say walk because there is a path, so that is a plus I suppose. It was fascinating to see England's progression and scientific advancement due to the observatory. There were interactive exhibits in which one could anything from time-telling all over the world to games with constellations. And speaking of time-telling, at the Royal observatory one is able to straddle the Prime Meridian. So I have stood with one foot in the Eastern and one foot in the Western Hemisphere.

After the Royal Observatory, we visited the National Maritime Museum. They had some pretty cool exhibits with moving projections and lights. The light tech in me kind of nerded out. We saw exhibits that told the story of England's maritime superiority. The most compelling exhibit had to with England and the American Colonies. It was about England's involvement in the American slave trade and the War of 1812.

After that, we had lunch at Cafe Sol, which was a Mexican restaurant. The drinks were a bit pricey, but the food was fantastic. I had a chimmy changa, and some fruity drink. I would recommend going at least once. From there we headed to the Greenwich Market. The market was a combo of food and material items. There were a bunch of antiques. We found a poffertjes stand. It was a little piece of home.

From the market, we left via the DLR which was basically the tube above ground. It was a long day and finally reaching home felt good.