Greenwich and Epping Forest

Last Saturday night, Josh and I went out on a "date" to a movie and dinner.  I thought I knew where the closest theater was, in fact, I've walked by it a few times, but I somehow completely missed it when we were on the bus.  We ended up riding around London until Josh found another theater with a later showing.  Oops.  It all turned out good though, we went to see American Pie Reunion which I thought was really funny.  Josh and I spent the rest of the night reminiscing about our high school and college days. 

The next day, Josh had some work to do, so I was on my own for entertainment.  It was a beautiful day and the sun was actually out, so I refused to sit inside puttering around.  I decided to take a trip down to Greenwich which is pretty far east of London and south of the Thames.  I initially went for a market I had read about but once I got there, I realized there was so much more to do in Greenwich!

Coming out of the train station the first thing I noticed was a huge clipper ship called the Cutty Sark.  The boats hull is now enclosed and suspended inside the museum.  I didn't go inside, but I could peer through the glass and it looked like it would be a really interesting tour.

The Cutty Sark

Cutty Sark in Greenwich

As I wandered along the river I noticed the entrance to the Old Royal Naval College and decided to have a look around.  It was lovely!  The college was free to visit and there were a lot of people just laying in the grassy areas taking in the sun.

Old Royal Naval College

College from the pier.

I was able to go into a few of the rooms at the Naval College.  One was called the Painted Hall and it was amazing!  Every surface seemed to be covered in beautiful artwork.

The Painted Hall

Painted Hall at Old Royal Naval College

Part of the ceiling in the Painted Hall

After touring the Painted Hall, I went across the lawn to the chapel.  It was another very beautiful place to visit. 

Chapel of St. Peter and Paul

Painting at the altar of St. Peter and Paul

After roaming around the college for a while I popped into the National Maritime Museum and had a quick stroll around.  I didn't have a lot of time to look around because it was getting late but it looked like a good place to spend an hour or two.  I really wanted to see the Greenwich line while I was in the area, so I hiked up a pretty steep hill to find it.  I was rewarded with a really great view of the city and I got to see one of the Olympic sites.

View of London from Greenwich and an Olympic stadium site.

Keeping time at the Greenwich Meridian

The Greenwich Meridian line.

East and West Longitude

Exploring Greenwich was really fun and I would love to go back again for the day.  I finally made it to the market I initially went to Greenwich for.  The market was small but had interesting booths.  I even managed to find some vintage plates that I adore.  In the States, I collected milk glass FireKing.  I had to leave my collection back home so I was excited to come across these...

Milk glass plates, tray and gravy boat.

While these are not FireKing, I still love them!  I've never seen such a large serving tray and I happily paid 5 pounds for all of it.  I think it was a steal and now I'll have a little piece of England to add to my collection when we move back home someday. 

On Friday of this week, Alissa came over after work and I "taught" her how to bake.  She loves to cook but is intimidated by baking so we decided to get together and make something.  We settled on a Key Lime Pie, which I have never made before either.  The pie ended up being totally delicious!  Kieran also came over after work and we all had some drinks and then went out to dinner at The Breakfast Club.  They are such fun people and I am so glad that we met them!

Yesterday (Saturday), Josh and I decided to go check out Epping Forest.  We have been craving some outdoor nature time and Epping Forest offers hiking and boating pretty close to the city.  It was a pretty place, although not very larger (at least in the area we were in), but we had a nice picnic and walk.  Josh made friends with some geese too...

Epping Forest

Some geese eying our lunch

After walking around for a while we headed back to the city and rode some bikes around the Mile End area of London.  It was a nice day and I'm so glad we were able to get outside without a drop of rain hitting us!  The forecast for next week actually has some 70* temps in it...fingers crossed it actually happens!  

Rachel