Saturday, January 24, 2009

Greenwich

I do not even know where to start with my yesterday. It was so much fun I don't think I can capture it in words, but it did have a bit of a rough start.

We all woke up around 8:30 for a day trip to Greenwich courtesy of NYU-L. Not to happy about the 8:30 start point on a Friday, but for a free trip we were willing to skim on the sleep. I took my first tube ride, which I must say is a little bit complicated, but quite excellent. It's much cleaner than the subway in new york and the seats are nice and cushy :-) We took the Jubilee line (New York just has ABCDEF...not quite as fun of names) and as we waited we listened to the sounds of a man on an accordion...a little different from the rushed sounds of the subway in Manhattan.

Anyway we make it to the dock to take our boat ride to Greenwich. It's raining, a dreary day, but the boat ride is all the more exciting. Katie and I go up on the deck for a bit to freeze, but we see amazing views riding down the Thames (pronounced tems here.) So we arrive in Greenwich and here is where it gets a bit miserable. It is absolutely freezing here. We leave the cities warmth and drop what must have been about twenty degrees. My toes are frozen and our outdoor tour of the city is just not working for me. I listen all the same and find out some interesting facts about the city, but inside I just cannot WAIT for this trip to be over. I'm mumbling prayers to myself that I might look interested in what the tour guide was saying...

Anyway, tour ended and we go to the painted hall, which was absolutely beautiful! All the more glorious in our eyes as it also provided warmth. We went to a little pub like place for lunch, then headed up to the observatory where I stood in the eastern and western hemispheres at the same time. Two places at once. Check that off the list of things to do!

We finished off the day at the maritime museum and the queens house- which both boasted beautiful paintings and cool museum trinkets. We also stopped by the market and ate the most DELICIOUS cookies.

The night ended beautiful as we had our first interactions with the locals. We met a bunch of guys who all had been 'mates' since they were young...very nice, very fun, hopefully see them again sometime (or beat them at football!)

Today I tried out Spurgeon's church. It's VERY traditional. In fact, one of their tenants on the newcomers guide is that they don't believe worship should include anything but voices and the organ. I'm not sure how I feel about that. I absolutely adore getting into worship and feeling the beat and such...I won't go in to too much detail, but ask me about it if you're interested.

So back to the grindstone...I would normally say, but i'm actually enjoying classes here! The only part i'm not looking forward to is less sleep. So i'll get right on that...

Good day :-)

4 comments:

  1. I love reading your posts! I feel like I'm reading some book about a foreign traveler. Needless to say, I am grateful for the updates on all the cool and amazing stuff you get to do and experience. I hope to one day see it myself! I agree with Clint's earlier comment that you should post the 101 things to do list. It'll be cool to see what all you accomplish on it (if not all of it). Well, I hope you stay warm and I'm eagerly awaiting more!

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  2. How was the preaching at Spurgeon's church? He wasn't really known for his record collection, but he was one powerful speaker. Is his successor powerful as well?

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  3. I'm so excited to find your blog!!!! I hope you are loving London. Be sure and email me your address when you get a chance so I can send you a little something. :-) And I love the header at the top of your page!!! So classy!

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  4. I can't really take the credit for the header Lauren- that was all Clint..
    and to Clint- I didn't find him to be a very powerful speaker, but it could be because of the day? my attitude? I don't know, I'm going to try again... I just didn't find his message to be very deep in my opinion, it was encouraging, yes, but I didn't walk away with a challenge, something to apply to my life, a lesson...

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