Greenwich
For my first excursion out of Central London (and school and Notting Hill) I opted for Greenwich, since it is but a tube ride away, and I had friends who were willing to come with me 🙂
We started off with the Painted Hall, which was actually pretty cool, and had displays, including a list of all of the movies that were filmed at the Royal Naval College.
Next, we ventured to the Royal Observatory, which is at the top of the hill, to see the Meridian Line, and learn a lot about time. It was slightly underwhelming for one of the lines that divides the world in two, but it was still pretty interesting.
Since I am obsessed with afternoon teas, and the clipper was on the list of things to see and do in Greenwich, we went to the Cutty Sark.
Touring the ship was interesting and informative, including interactive stations and a bench that lets you feel what it was like at sea, but my favorite part was definitely the tea. I chose a Darjeeling because it smelt nice, even though I had never been impressed by them before, and it was soooo good. Then the food arrived…
The chef came out and explained what she had made for us, including ham and cheese, chicken and dijon mustard, egg and cress, salmon and cream cheese, cucumber and cream cheese, then my personal favorite, cranberry and brie. It was soooo delicious, I am still craving it. The pastries were bite size, with a brownie, a lemon and mint square, carrot cake and a flapjack. Loved every one!
But, the best part was the scones. Which were warm. As in fresh out of the oven. They definitely did not need the clotted cream and jam I put on top, but I couldn’t resist. Even though it was nearly closing time, they still brought us fresh pots of tea, and two more scones, which they actually had to cook, because there were none ready made. They were so worth it. We were willing to pay for them, even though we were pretty full, because they were that good, but they didn’t charge us. I definitely recommend the tea, which includes admission and is still cheaper than almost every other afternoon tea I have found, to anyone who finds themselves in Greenwich. And you also might want to find yourself in Greenwich just for the tea.
Kailea and I finished the night with Henry IV Part II, the third in the cycle but the last one that we saw. I know, we didn’t do them in order, which confused Sam Marks when I got his autograph and picture after the show. A perfect ending to an awesome day 🙂