UK and Europe '24 Days 5 and 6 - Greenwich, Shakespear's Globe, Royal Albert Hall and Science Museum

I'm already a little bit tired just reading the title. Before we set off on our big adventure, we invested in a couple of London passes, with a solid plan to use the hop-on/hop off bus on the first day to get our bearings then sweep back around to the places we identified as hot picks. So that didn't happen because apparently we love to walk loads. Luckily we only purchased a two day pass and day's five and six were a great time to use them, because our sunshine disappeared and the rains came.

No train on day 5, it was all bus and boat (and feet). We caught the 148 down to Westminster and (you guessed it arrived early, so popped into the Pret a Manger for some food then ate it while sitting by the Thames since there was a little break in the weather. The Uber boat sailed by a little after 10 am so we hopped on to the hop-on/hop off service and headed for Greenwich. There were several stops along the way and the announcements from the captain, in a Cockney accent, went something like this: "London Bridge next stop, passengers disembark from the front of the boat, front of the boat, exit from the front of the boat." this was immediately followed by a recording with a typically stern and sensible English accent "attention passengers, please exit from the front of the vessel." I'm not really sure the translation was necessary, but it entertained us as we headed down river.  We sailed past Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, London Bridge and Tower Bridge before the catamaran picked up speed towards Greenwich. 

Greenwich is an old naval and military village sitting on the bank of the Thames and is full of historical buildings and attractions. The historic Cutty Sark came into view as we approached, and we headed ashore, the beauty of the village unfolded with some of its architecture dating back to Georgian times (17th Century). We waked through the grounds of the Old Royal Naval College and were drawn towards the Painted Hall building, so wandered in for our first look-see. 

The building was designed by Christopher Wren, commissioned by the King and Queen of the day to house injured and elderly seamen. The seamen weren't allowed to have anyone stay with them, so if they married, they were booted out, but most lived a fairly restful life there long term, on the condition they attended chapel once a day. 

The dining hall was painted under the direction of Sir James Thornhill and is really something to behold. Trompe l'oeil and classic art design cover the walls and ceilings. Our guide, Helen, talked us through the artworks which convey propaganda messaged about the virtues of maintaining a Protestant monarchy compared to what tyranny would ensue should a Catholic be allowed to assume the throne. The potted history of the early monarchs has piqued my interest, hearing stories of how lineage played second fiddle to religious ideology. Kings were imported from Holland and Germany because of the Protestant beliefs and family members traditionally in line for the thrown were rejected because of their Catholic roots. After Helen's tour, we headed into the chapel which houses pipe organ, its spaciousness accommodating long wooden pews, fit for the respected infirm on the day and a comfortable place to sit for recitals performed in the space in current times.   

When it came time to move on, we popped into the local chapter of Gail's Bakery and had ourselves some baked goods for lunch. Maybe it's because we're on holidays, but the quality of food we've had here has been really great quality. The pastries are always double plus good. 

It was raining on and off by this stage as we had a little wander to check out the old buildings, winding our way towards the Royal Observatory. 

Here, you can stand on the zero-degrees meridian, or if you want to get really fancy, place one foot each in the east and west. There's a lot of history to take in here and more fascinating history around the measurement and standardisation of time and advances in navigation branching from the observations made at this observatory. England's first Camera Obscura was housed here, but the current one was created in 1994. Artefacts from the Astronomer Royal, a massive telescope (it's an observatory, after all) and the Octagon Room, commissioned by King Charles II all make for an interesting few hours.

Feeling like it was time to head back towards Central London, we hopped back onto the Uber, this time disembarking to check out Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. This is really worth taking a look at if you're into Shakespeare, theatre or tales from the early 17th century. Lots of little gems came out of this tour. How the Globe Theatre was dismantled like an Ikea flat and relocated after a dispute with the landlord because the tenants could legally take anything away that could be carried off the property. The accidental incineration of the first theatre when the company cleverly tried to use a live canon for a sound effect and, of course, the story of the penny stinkers. The penny stinkers were the patrons who filled the stand-up space in front of the stage, below the stalls. They were typically workers from beer factories, labourers from farms and workers from the tannery. A little bit on the nose to begin with. To add to their title, there were no toilets in the venue and if you left to relieve yourself in the river, you had to pay another admission fee because they didn't issue tickets as proof of entry. Consequently, the patrons would relieve themselves where they stood. More stink. Then, because of the same lack of ticketing, the gentry would sometimes need to relieve themselves. Where else but over the railings into/onto the penny stinkers. Lot's of history and plenty of other stories to be found here at Shakespeare's Globe, but it was time to have some dinner before heading back to our accommodation.

There are stacks of old pubs around London, but none are older than the Seven Stars, operating since 1602 - the year before Queen Elizabeth 1 passed away. That's a pretty old and long running pub. We squeezed ourselves into the space, literally, because it's quite narrow, and found a table to jam ourselves around (having to rise several times so people at the next table could access their chairs). It was pretty cool to be dining where people have been coming to socialise for several centuries and the bangers and mash was pretty tasty. We were bushed at the end of the day, so headed home for a solid rest.

Today was another rainy day, so the London Pass came in handy for today's activities, too. We started the day off pretty easily, heading to Regent's Park at first, had a bite at Joe & The Juice then wandered towards Marks and Spencers, having figured out we couldn't get into Madame Tussaud's. Chris picked up some nice trousers and a dressing gown and I tried on some trousers but wasn't happy with the style, so I'm still on the hunt for some nice pants for when we go to the Moulin Rouge in a couple of weeks' time. Plenty of time (!)

We decided to head across to the Royal Albert Hall for the tour and ended up walking more than we had hoped because the bus stop for the connecting service at Hyde Park was closed. We made it there at last, had a little snack, purely to justify sitting at the table to wait for the tour guide, I swear, then embarked on the hour long tour. The building is a interesting inside as it is majestic on the outside. It sits opposite the Prince Albert Memorial in Kensington Gardens, which was commissioned by Queen Victoria after the premature death of Prince Albert. The monument took twelve years to complete, and Albert Hall took only four. Go figure. We got to sit in the box seats while the tour guide told us about the design of the theatre and the unique ownership of its seats. You can purchase your very own seat at the theatre for around a quarter of a million pounds, or a box for about three million. The seats are treated like real estate and can be handed down in your will. If you've ever seen footage from a concert at Albert Hall and wondered why there are empty seats, it's most likely because the seat owners haven't informed the theatre that they won't be attending the concert, and their seats therefore could not be allocated for others to use. Lot's of interesting little goings on at RAH, for sure! We viewed the Royal Box (from behind the velvet rope) and were allowed into the Royal Retiring room where the Royal family go for refreshments and to relax before seeing a show. The Royal entrance has a chandelier supplied by Buckingham Palace and provides safe, private access for the Royals to come and go from the building. 

Not far from Royal Albert Hall is the Science Museum, where we watched a 3-D IMAX film about Antarctica. Beautifully shot with a well written, entertaining script that brought life and character to the scenes being portrayed. A wander through the museum itself uncovered everything from looms originating in the industrial revolution right through to space modules, and everything in between. It was particularly interesting to look at the development of telecommunications. Radio, telephony and the logistics around connecting the UK to North America by cable were all documented and demonstrated. Installations where you can tap out some morse code, or other similar communication methods and displays of items it felt a little sobering to acknowledge are from my own living memory. Technology has progress so quickly, and it great to see its progress being preserved for posterity.

Time for a burger, a delayed bus (we really didn't have the best luck with transport today it seems) and home to pack, for tomorrow we head to Amsterdam. London has been fabulous, and I look forward to coming back down the track, but before that, there's plenty more adventures to be had on this trip. Nighty night!