- Carl Sagan
I almost wanted to stay indoors today but luckily I'm stubborn enough to persevere on with my plans to go to Greenwich, coz I had just the most beautiful day!
#1. One Canada Square, the tallest building in UK
It didn't start out that way though. When I got off at Canary Wharf, the wind was biting. My fingers and nose felt like thousands of pins were set upon them. For that few minutes while I was looking for the DLR, I regretted being outdoors.
#2. The Greenwich foot tunnel, linking Greenwich to the Isle of Dogs, crossing beneath the River Thames
I only know I wanted to see the Prime Meridian line and that I didn't mind poking around a bit at the planetarium, so it caught me by surprise when I walked into this huge field surrounded by ancient complexes with tall roman columns. It's the Old Royal Naval College (currently being used by the University of Greenwich) which was constructed by Sir Christopher Wren, the same dude who did St. Paul's.
#3. The Old Royal Naval College
So I was walking around and exploring, and I thought I heard music behind the wall. I turned the corner and saw that it was a chapel. As I went up the steps and came into full view of the chapel, I felt... overwhelmed. The ceiling was ornately decorated with delicate Greek motives. Warm light poured through the windows, turning everything it touches a golden hue. What made the whole experience even more magical was a fantastic flute and harp mini concert from the Trinity Laban, a music and dance university.
As I took a seat at the pew towards the back and flipped through the programme, I realised that the concert will be performed by professionals in their field of study - Anna Noakes, Professor of Flute, and Gabriella Dall'Olio, Head of Harp Studies. Such luck! Anna and Gabriella presented 3 sonatas, lasting about an hour altogether. It was truly an experience of a lifetime.
For that one hour, almost no thoughts went through my head. This is exactly what I need. The opportunity to be lost in a moment, completely and utterly absorbed by something so simple. Bliss.... the best one hour ever spent!
#4. The Chapel of St. Peter and St. Paul (no photography is allowed in the chapel so I googled this for your visual pleasure)
Also on the grounds of the Old Royal Naval College is the Painted Hall, one of the western world's finest dining hall.
#5. The Painted Hall with its stunning paintings by Sir James Thornhill
Then it was the hunt for the Royal Observatory, the home of the Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) and Prime Meridian of the world, Longitude 0° 0' 0''. It was across a big park and up a hill.
The Prime Meridian divides the Earth into the eastern and western hemispheres. All the time zones in the world is measured from GMT, so you're either ahead of GMT or behind. Malaysia is ahead of GMT by 8 hours, which explains the jet lag I'm still experiencing.
#6. A green laser beam projects into the sky from the square opening up there, indicating the Prime Meridian line but it's only visible at night. The digital clock is an atomic clock which is phenomenally accurate to one second in one million years!
#7. Left foot on the Western Hemisphere, right foot on the Eastern Hemisphere
#8. Fish and chips, the quintessential British dish
After lunch, I took a river boat to Embankment. It's brr cold but no visit to London would be complete without a cruise on the River Thames.
#9. I nearly died from chill factor when taking this picture from the Golden Jubilee Bridge
South Bank is an area of London where the arts and culture converge. Here's where you can find the London Eye, Tate Modern, National Theatre...
#10. Street performers, all doing their statue thing (the Golden Jubilee Bridge's in the background)
#11. A room of lights that goes on and off to the beat of the music
#12. And if you walk all the way to Westminster Bridge, you'll get an awesome spot to photograph the Houses of Parliament and the Big Ben
#13. Portcullis House, just opposite the Houses of Parliament
#14. To cap off the day, I joined Dav and Steph for the screening of a horror movie. It was sponsored by Jameson whiskey so naturally we get free drinks and some popcorn too! The show's called Quatermass and the Pit, and involve a lot of grasshoppers, some hopping, some not. You just have to watch it!
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