WE DECIDED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE WONDERFUL sunshine and head to Greenwich and the ferry is a good way to travel while combining London’s sights without the crowds of the sightseeing boats. Big Ben tolled ten times as the ferry slid into the current but the clock in Elizabeth Tower (Big Ben is the bell, not the tower) doesn't keep the official time. That is done downstream at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich.
Tower Bridge
The River Thames isn’t the the only thing that runs through Greenwich - so does the Prime Meridian where the Eastern Hemisphere meets the Western Hemisphere. Greenwich is also the home of the Royal Naval College and the Royal Observatory and where Greenwich Mean Time or GMT, the world’s standard, is kept. The price to straddle 0° seemed pretty steep so after synchronising our watches with the official clock, we had lunch at the Trafalgar Tavern where the likes of Dickens once dined.
Westminster Abbey
Back in London we joined the queue for Westminster Abbey, a much shorter line than when we tried to visit in 2012. Even though the Abbey was designed by Christopher Wren, architecturally it isn’t much different from other places we have visited but its history is unique. So is the list of dignitaries interred within, from royalty to poets, statesmen to scientists. When I asked why photography was prohibited the docent gave me the company line about the Abbey still being a place of worship. I can't believe that taking a photo of the tombs in "Poets' Corner" would be more disruptive than the thousands of noisy, pushy visitors.
