Oh the Navy

Greenwich, located in "greater London" down the Themes towards the sea was once the HQ of the greatest Navy this world has ever seen.  It also has the Royal Obervatory where the Greenwich Prime Meridian is. Tres cool.

Molly, Britany and I went by boat because we are romantics, the weather was glorious, and there is nothing like a cruise down the Themes! You can see cool stuff like where the Pilgrims took off from, the apartment from a Fish Called Wanda, Sir Francis Drake's pirate ship, and lots of other nifty things.

The Royal Naval Academy butts right up to the Themes in all its glory

At low tide you can walk down and play about on the pebbles. But can you see that green algae mark? Yeah that's high tide...

The Themes has one of the most drastic high/low ties shifts in the world, which unfortunately makes the water really murky with all the silt...but they claim its clean.

The mud tried to eat my shoe.

A view through the Royal College to the Queen's House and the Observatory hill beyond.

A beautiful chapel

The Queen's House, designed by The Inigo Jones-an amazing architect who also designed for the theater-it is actually the first building in England that fully and openly acknowledged to be classical. It was started for King James I's wife, but was finished for Charles I's wife.

The view from the top of the hill down onto Greenwich and the City of London on the opposite side of the river. And lots of sunbathers.

Heading back home under the Tower Bridge!

Oooooo

Tower of London

The Globe is the timbre framed building in the middle, with the tower of the Tate Modern on the right (it used to be a power plant)

The Day of Jubilee and the Extended(?) Week of Natural Wonders

My weeks seem to go in themes...museum week..now my flatmate Molly christened this the Week of Natural Wonders and our sojourn to Regent's Park the Day of Jubilee (accounted below). And here it is:

Westminster Abbey-can't take photos inside unfortunately, as it's quite beautiful, but there is a lovely green outside where we paused for photos (L to R, me, Meghan, Molly and Drew).

The green is actually part of the private boys school that is still taught here.

Regent's Park! We had a full week of lovely weather, mid to hight 70s with sun! So Thursday the Ladies of Flat No. 1 and I went out to Regents where we paddle boated/row boated and sat in the grass reading for a few hours.

Regent's has lots of wide paths by the pond here, lots of birds, and dogs running around. We are still amazed at how well behaved all the dogs of London are! 

Lots of trees and there are wee dasies in the grass!

Miss  Molly and Brittany in the row boat, taken while Meghan and I were in the paddle boat!

Meghan reading Love in a Time of Cholera 

Me reading The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (again)

Molly: Mists of Avalon

Brittany: writing postcards (so there)

Friday we took a group trip out to the town of Stratford-Upon-Avon, the hometown of one William Shakespeare, who may or may not have written some of the most classic of the classic plays EVER.

The town is adorable. Tudor buildings all over the place!

Byzantine Shakes??

The ceiling of the church Shakespeare is buried in...

...here.

The river Avon, i know you can't read it but that white boat is-oh yes-an ice cream boat. Suddenly ice cream vans are so blase.

Memorial to the Bard:

"Good night, sweet Prince, 

And flights of angels

Sing thee to thy rest!"

chillin' out, maxin' and relaxin' all cool on the Avon

kinda looking like an ass but that's cool

This Prince of Denmark and I are contemplating many things:

perhaps we will murder his uncle

or not

we haven't decided yet.

So we'll just stand here and talk to Yorick.

who is dead.

Alas!

Ate dinner on the banks of the Avon before seeing the RSC production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, which was the fourth time I've see it, and by far the best production. So good. 

While we were eating dinner-minding our own business- a swan got territorial with a dog. Did you know that swans can hiss?

they do.

You can kinda see the dog and swan in the background...

Brittany is so not okay with the situation

Molly is amused

the swan won.

Had some free time today so Miss Molly, Brittany and I went out to the village of Hampstead, that was long ago swallowed up by London, and has this HUGE park-Hampstead Heath, which is really just green space, where Londoners can climb up to Parliament Hill and get a view out over their city. So we sat under this tree for a while.

rainbow!!

Hampstead Heath is bits of large estates that were bought up to form a public park, one of the estates, Kenwood, has a large mansion that is also open to the public. Oh, has anyone seen the movie Notting Hill? That bit where Julia Robert's character is on location for a Henry James film? Recognize the house? 

There is also a lovely garden of rhododendrons to walk about in

and take photos in!

Is this the end the Week of Natural Wonders?

doubt it.

Oh lord, the pretties!

Did you know that The Globe Theater has an exhibit? With an entire section on costumes? Both historical background and how they make them in their shop?

Well they do.

AND

you can take pictures. 122 of them if you  want.

Furthermore, did you know that all of the costumes they make are sewn by hand? fabrics woven by hand? all natural dyes used? trims made by hand too?

I almost died.