Taking a ride on the Thames is a great way to get to Greenwich and stand in two different time zones at once
I went to London with my brother, totally by chance. We wanted to visit Greenwich. We chose the most original option: a ride in a boat on the River Thames. As we waited for the boat, we took lots of great shots of the Thames with the London Eye in the background.
I remember it was rather cold that day, which is normal for November. It was the first time we had been to London and we were willing to make the sacrifice! We were among the brave few who went up to the top part of the ship. We were rewarded with much better views than on the lower level. On our trip we were able to see monuments, the Tate Modern, the Tower of London, London Bridge, the financial zone and impressive Victorian buildings, as well as a nice ride down the most famous river in London.
Although you could get off the boat at four different points, we chose to stay on for the entire ride until the last stop in Greenwich, home of the famous meridian. After traveling for an hour on the boat, we arrived. I remember it was a quarter to five when we got off the boat, because the park where the meridian is located closed at five, so we had to run up the hill quickly to see it.
When we arrived, exhausted, the guard told us that it was closed and we would have to live without seeing the meridian and without a photo of one foot in each time zone. I told the guard (in a polite, but forceful way) that one of the reasons we made the trip was to take that photo. We had wanted to do this ever since we were little. Maybe because we were annoying or maybe because he took pity on us, the guard finally allowed us to hurry inside and see some panoramic views I will never forget.
One of the bad things about London, which is true of a lot of European cities, is that the important buildings close early to keep costs down. On the other hand, this allows them to offer free entry to the public. After we achieved our goal, we sat down and enjoyed the beautiful park located on the outskirts of London. We walked down the hill and stopped in the National Maritime Museum next to The Queen’s House.
It is an interesting museum, but not worth the trip if you are going just to see it specifically. One of the attractions of the area is the CuttySark boat. Unfortunately it was under construction, so we couldn’t see it. Since we were pretty far out, the underground did not travel to this area, so we took the DRL or light rail train from Canary Wharf to Bank. In this way we finished our adventure in Greenwich and continued discovering the city of London.