Gallivanting in Greenwich

The commencement of classes caused my writing hiatus. My apologies, but evidently they're required.


So you missed my trip to Greenwich -- lucky you. 
Actually it was a fine trip that was tarnished due to a faulty weather reading that directed me towards clothing that was not nearly warm enough. Our tour guide also seemed a bit rushed and oddly annoyed, so I felt a little attacked at too early an hour. But overall it was good fun.

During our trek we ran into the set for the new Pirates of the Caribbean 3 movie. Unfortunately, we missed the taping by a day, but we still got to see part of the set and dozens of empty stables which I'm assuming housed all the A-list horses because they were completely bordered off.


For lunch, we went to a small noodle house that our tour guide wouldn't stop raving about. It's highlights were that it was warm and so was the food. 

They also had freshly made juices that arrived at the table with a thick layer of froth, fresh out of the production process. The apple juice was this vibrant neon green color. I've never thought of getting juice from a green apple, but the color was absolutely exquisite. Everyone seemed to be getting sick, so I was nervous to try it, but this may be worth a second visit.

The noodles were special because of the varieties and because of the toppings. 

I ordered a flat, translucent noodle with roast duck. There were some fatty pieces, but overall the meat was salty and spectacular. It was served in a sauce comparable to that of pad thai but not quite as strong or complex of a flavor.

Cameron ordered a thin, fried noodle with vegetables. It was good, but I think we agreed that next time we'll just go for pad thai.

One girl that was with us ordered the fried noodles with sweet and sour chicken. When I first saw it on the menu, I thought it sounded like overkill, but once it arrived at the table I was instantly jealous. 


After lunch we went to the Queens House and walked the famous Tulip Staircase. In 1966 Rev. R W Hardy visited the Queens House and was taking pictures of the interior when he snapped a startling photograph of the staircase. 

His wife was by his side and witnessed that there was no one else in the room; however, when the photo was developed, a hooded figure was grasping onto the rails of the stairs. After this photo was discovered and studied, many people later claimed to see a woman haunting the stairs and claimed that there were unidentified noises coming from the stairwell. 

Like a true oblivious tourist, I didn't read any of the dozens of signs that asked visitors to not use any cameras, so I was able to capture this great illegal shot of the beautiful staircase. No ghosts, however the light on the right looks a little like a tiny man....

We also visited the Prime Meridian of the world. This red ball slowly starts to rise at 5 minutes to 1:00 pm. When it finally reaches 1:00, the ball drops, setting the time for the entire planet.

Not quite New Years, but I’d like to see Dick Clark rock all 24 time zones at once.

After we watched the ball drop, we took a hike so that we could actually see the International Date Line for ourselves. The walk was surprisingly steep, but Cameron and I took it like champions.

In school you’re always told that the Prime Meridian is an imaginary line, but that's clearly false. Cameron and I got to stand on that line and then put one foot in the western hemisphere and one foot in the eastern hemisphere.

We left Greenwich and unintentionally spent some time at the University of London, which, as it turns out, is not the same thing as University College London. Cameron was of course very thrilled with that news.

Needless to say, we eventually made it home, and the adventures continued! Stay tuned...