That pesky Prime Directive

Oh, wait, that's what they keep having trouble with on Star Trek. What we saw today was the Prime Meridian, and what a delightful day we had!

It started out with an exciting round of one of my favorite travel games: figuring out mass transit routes! I mean it! I love doing this stuff—it's like a treasure hunt. I should say that I love doing it when you actually end up where you want to go, and we did today, in spite of a boatload of obstacles put in our way by London Transport and their maintenance schedule. We neglected to check this website before leaving, although we were given a heads up by the helpful receptionist at FIE where we met the students who were going with us. (First big lesson learned today: check for disruptions before you leave!)

However, as it turned out, between the announcements on the train (actually understandable and helpful!) and a few well-chosen questions of the considerate transport staff, we were able to negotiate a long, multi-stage trip that involved two different kinds of trains and a set of replacement buses. What an incredibly well-run transit system they have here! Londoner's pride in it is fully justified.


And all the effort was well worth it. This is the view from the top of the hill where the Observatory is located. The handsome quad of buildings at the other side of the grassy field is the Royal Naval College, which I saw close-up later. The steep climb up here was fueled by a delicious lunch at a Greenwich pizzeria (I had soup this time).

The main attraction of course is the aforementioned meridian, although the attached museum is very interesting and they have a neat, real, full-sized camera obscura that's pretty cool. Everyone had to have their picture taken standing athwart the meridian, and one of our wonderful students took this for me. Texas readers, take note of the multiple layers of outerwear: it was delightfully cool today, and though continually overcast and threatening-looking, there was actually NO RAIN!

After the observatory the little group of students I was with headed over to the Sunday market, where I got some good ideas for possible future souvenir purchases. There were some quite interesting-looking items there. And the food looked wonderful; I rather wished we'd skipped the restaurant and eaten as we shopped. That would also have given us the time to see the Maritime Museum, which will have to wait for a future visit.

I did have time for a nice stroll around the College, though, and took this picture of those towers seen from a distance before. As well as this one that I feel already is typically English: a church and trees—there are certainly plenty of both around here!

All in all, it was a very successful day. We proved to ourselves we could navigate the tube system under conditions that won't normally prevail during the week (we hope). At the same time I hope we gave the students without mass transit experience some confidence when they strike out on their own.

And it was such fun being with them! (16 of our 23 went with us to Greenwich.) My opinion may change when classes start Tuesday (just kidding! I don't think it will) but so far they've been perfect traveling companions—friendly, considerate, enthusiastic, supportive of us and each other. I think we're in for a great semester!