Trip to Greenwich and the Royal Observatory, Stonehenge and Bathe, and Upcoming Events

On Saturday, I joined Paul and Donne for a trip to Greenwich, the old Royal Naval College, and the Royal Observatory. We started out in Southwark and walked across the Tower Bridge. To keep track of things, I have now walked across 3 bridges in London: London Bridge, the Millennium Bridge, and the Tower Bridge.

After that, we caught a river boat to Greenwich and walked up the hill to the Royal Observatory, the home of the prime meridian of the world. I know you will appreciate this one, Uncle Jon. The museum was great, and they had the different time pieces that were invented to keep time at sea.


The view from the top was great. Here is a picture of Paul and Donna.


Then it was down the hill to a lunch of Fish (Rock Salmon) and Chips. We ate at a cool restaurant named the Beachcomber, and the "cuisine" was very good.

After that, we went to see two of the buildings in the Naval College. The first one was a spectacularly painted hall.


We stopped by the chapel before catching the bus back home. That night, I watched a game of Rugby with Paul. We played a few games, ate pizza, and watched "X-Factor", the show that spawned (?) American Idol in the US.

Yesterday, I went on a tour of Stonehenge and Bathe. Although the tour guide was not so great, she did leave us alone once we were at the locations. But jeez, they drove this big bus through Bathe, pointing out these different locations as if that were an actual tour! I definitely felt that was a waste of time.

But, to the point. We arrived at Stonehenge around 10 and it was pretty miserable out. It was drizzling and very cold. I got plenty of pictures of the monuments, which were awesome, though I will admit that they were not as large as I thought they would be. We were given audio guides for the walk around the stones, and the history and information that they gave was good enough.


After an hour at the sight, we loaded back into the bus and were off to Bathe. The first stop was the Roman Bathhouse. I spent a good hour at the museum and sight.


You were not allowed to touch the water. They said that it was very filthy and was fed to this inside area through lead pipes. But, they did have a "safe" fountain that pumped out clean water. You could buy a glass of this wonderful stuff for only 50 p. I did.

So while the Baths were interesting, my favorite thing to do is walk around the cities, and Bathe provided a spectacular venue for that. The town is a bit touristy, but you cannot ruin old and beautiful buildings. At the top of the hill is The Circle, a circle of townhouses built in the same exact style.

The three different styles of columns in the homes represent the 3 major historical styles. I also visited the Royal Crescent, another group of homes designed by the same person.

That's it for the "official" sites. The next few pictures are just cool buildings and things that I saw.

I took this picture down by the river. I was heading back to the bus when I found a pathway to a river walk.


And finally...in Harrisburg, we had a Cow Parade. In Berlin, they have Bears. It seems that Bathe has....PIGS!


Today, I am going to the British Museum and Harrods. Tomorrow, I leave for an overnight trip to Paris. I will return Wednesday night. On Thursday, I will do a few minor things and on Friday, I leave for Cairo. I will spend Saturday in Cairo before leaving at Midnight for Johannesburg. I have booked a guide for Saturday, and I look forward to seeing the monuments.