The day was nice so we went to Greenwich by boat. Our narrator was a witty character who pointed out interesting things along the Thames and added some jokes for the entire sixty minute ride. Had some Portuguese food in Greenwich's weekend market--I had a fritter with chick peas and cilantro, Gord had a little fish pie thing, and we shared a sardine fritter--a little more greasy than we would have liked.

We had purchased tickets for a 1-1/2 hour walking tour as soon as we arrived and got to the meeting place in the visitor centre a few minutes early. No one else was there but finally our guide arrived and then a while later the three other people who had purchased tickets decided to show up, a Russian woman about my age, and two German women in their twenties. After a brief introduction and just when we were about to set out, the Russian woman asked if we could wait two minutes while she went into the shop to buy something. We had already started almost ten minutes late--I couldn't believe she would ask. But Ago, our guide who was originally from Ghana, agreed. So we had to wait some more. Then Ago said we were going to head to the market first and my first thought was that we can't let the Russian woman go in there. It was a very interesting market, one in which I could easily spend two hours exploring, but we were on a tour and didn't have much time. Well we all behaved ourselves--much less fun but much more practical.

We stopped in at St. Alfege Church where General Wolfe is buried (and which is on the site where the Archbishop of Canterbury was murdered in 1012), then walked past the National Maritime Museum and Queen's House, in front of which Ago talked about Greenwich's history for a while before we headed up to the Royal Observatory. It was a good little climb, but fortunately I've been in training for the past five weeks so it wasn't too bad (if my cholesterol isn't down considerably when I get home I'm going to be very disappointed). Ago did some more talking, we saw a statue of General Wolfe, and we happily ended the tour. Instead of going into the observatory (Ago filled us in on everything we would have learned inside anyway, the crowds were intense, and we could see the prime meridian from behind the iron gates), we opted instead to head down to Queen's House, begun by Inigo Jones in 1616 for Queen Anne of Denmark wife of James I). She died before it was completed and Queen Henrietta Maria, wife of Charles I, got to enjoy it instead. It supposedly was used as a model for the White House. Inside we raced through the collection of art, wonderful for anyone interested in ships at sea, and then hurried down to Christopher Wren's Old Royal Naval College to see the Painted Hall with ceilings painted by Sir James Thornhill and the Chapel of St. Peter and St. Paul with its altarpiece by American-born artist Benjamin West. There was filming going on for a movie and they had converted a large outdoor area into an eighteenth-century market. In just a few minutes you got the sense of how involved it is to create a set and also how tedious and slow-moving it is to film a scene.

We got back to the pier in time for the last boat back. We had the same narrator but this time he wasn't as amusing. There were just a few too many digs at politicians and people who could afford the real estate along the river. But the ride itself was very enjoyable. It was also very pleasant walking through Greenwich Park.

I am sorry to say that by the time we ate dinner and called daughters and parents, it was nine o'clock, much too late to start the movie. It will have to wait until later this week. Another busy day is scheduled for tomorrow.

Favorite sign of the day: Humped Pelican Crossing

Now if anyone can tell me the difference between a zebra crossing and a pelican crossing, please enlighten me.