London Day 1: Arrival, Greenwich & British Museum

It should come as no surprise that I have lots of photos to share. After all, we did take nearly 1700 photos, not including the few we took with our iphones. Of course that was with 3 different cameras (the 60D, the t3i and the sony cybershot) and there were lots of multiples/photos that just didn't turn out.

So let's begin!

Day 1: Friday, September 14
After our red-eye flight that left MSP at 9:45 on Thursday evening, we arrived in London early - 11:30 am. The flight wasn't too terrible, I think our time in the air was around 7 hours. And it was direct. That was awesome. Unfortunately, Adam couldn't sleep on the plane, and I slept for just a few hours. Lucky for me, those few hours left me feeling refreshed and excited. Adam was just exhausted.

We took the tube into Central London (using Oyster cards) and got off at Leicester Square, right where our hotel was located. The tube took about 40 minutes and was the quickest option considering our destination (short of taking a taxi). We stayed at the Premier Inn in Leicester Square.

Lucky for us, our room was ready when we arrived at 1:30. We dropped off our luggage and regrouped briefly, and then we were off!

On the way, we stopped by the TKTS booth in Leicester Square and bought our theater tickets for the next evening for Rock of Ages. Then we walked down to Trafalgar Square. That's when it really felt like we were in London!

After a few photos, we went to the Charing Cross rail station to pick up some 7-day Travelcards for getting around on the tube. With the paper travelcards, we were able to take advantage of the 2-for-1 offers at a lot of the London sights. Then it was a short walk down to Embankment Pier where we boarded the Thames Clipper boat to Greenwich. It took longer than the rail (37 min vs 15) but was a nice scenic intro to London.

Some notable sights on the boat ride were St. Pauls and the Millennium Bridge,

and the Tower of London.

Once in Greenwich, we walked by the Cutty Sark and then climbed the hill up to the Royal Observatory.

On the climb up, we saw lots of stuff still set up for the Olympics and Paralympics but in the process of being taken down. From the Royal Observatory, we could even see the Olympic Stadium. Cool!

It's in the distance on the right (with toothpick looking things sticking out of it). On the left is the Greenwich Olympic Equestrian Stadium

Adam enjoyed the Prime Meridian and being in both hemispheres at the same time.

I found the museum a little dull, but I knew that going in as we had visited back in 2005. Adam enjoyed it though, so that's what mattered. Here he is with a giant telescope.

and an interesting sun dial.

On our way to take the rail back in to London, we stopped at a pub for some refreshments and dinner. Pints + fish & chips!

We left Greenwich at 6 pm and arrived at the British Museum around 6:30. The museum is open late on Friday nights, so though weary, we wanted to take advantage of the late hours and smaller crowds.

The Britsh Museum is fascinating. It contains so many interesting objects that were plundered when the British were the dominant world power. Quite sad actually. There is so much to see there, but my favorites were the Rosetta Stone,

Egyptian relics,

and the Sutton Hoo helmet.

I also liked this purse clasp found at Sutton Hoo.

There were big architectural items and statues as well.

Unlike the last time I was there, we made it up to the second floor too where we saw Roman coins,

and lots of Greek vases among other ancient objects.

By 8:15, we were ready to drop, so we headed back and crashed. We definitely hit the ground running!

Highlights of the day:

Stef - Seeing the Olympic Stadium from afar
       - Egyptian statues, mummies & relics in the British Museum
Adam - Standing in both hemispheres
          - Having a pint + fish & chips