London, England

Today’s tour started from the cruise port in Tilbury, England to Greenwich, a very old part of London and a UNESCO World Heritage site. The drive took far longer than it should have due to heavy traffic, a tunnel repair and only 3 lane expressways. At times, our coach was sitting still or just barely creeping along. The sides of the roadways were not mowed and they were full of litter (or “rubbish” as the English would say). I don't understand why they don't do something about this. I guess we Texans are spoiled to seeing mowed, clean highways.

When we finally arrived, our driver dropped us off and we walked a relatively short distance to the location of the Cutty Sark, the world’s only surviving 19th-century clipper ship. Built in 1869, it was the fastest ship of its kind. It transported tea from China and wool from Australia to England. As with the Vasa war ship we saw last week, the Cutty Sark was very difficult to photograph due to its size and length. I took a lot of photos of various parts of the ship but won't overload this post with them.

The Cutty Sark - maiden voyage from London to Shanghai in 1870

view from below the hull

Cutty Sark's ship route

boating knots display

Captain Ronnie at the helm

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Long John Silver Collection of Figureheads

Above, the Long John Silver Collection is the largest collection of Merchant Navy figureheads in the world. It was given to Cutty Sark in 1953 by Sydney Cumbers, also known as Long John Silver because of his eye patch and his love for the sea. We wandered through 4 levels of the ship seeing various displays. We saw the captains and 1st and 2nd mates cabins. I don't know how anyone could have possibly slept in a narrow rectangular wooden box without even room to turn over!

a nearby chart showed names of each figurehead

1st Mate's private room (regular seamen slept on deck)

After exploring the ship for an hour or so, we had about 1.5 hour on our own for lunch. There were quite a few small restaurants in the area but I suggested we eat something traditionally English for lunch, which is exactly what we did. We agreed that Mexican food in London probably wouldn’t be that good anyway – ha! So we decided on a very British place called Pie & Mash, a family run business since 1890. It was bustling with locals and visitors alike. Of course we immediately started looking for something “safe” on the menu (no hot or jellied eels for us)! Ronnie settled on the ham and chicken pie and I ordered the cheese and onion pie. All orders came with “mash” (mashed potatoes).

It was crazy busy but one only had to walk in the door, line up at the counter, place your order, move down a few feet, pick up your food and pay. Once you had your food, just sit wherever you can find a place. Prices were surprisingly reasonable, portions were very generous and the food was good, so it was easy to see why this was such a popular lunch spot. After eating, we wished we had instead just split the meal and ordered the apple pie for dessert.

 

Pie & Mash?

Welcome

 

Quick! What will it be?

order, pick up and pay in one line

 

After our tummies were full, we still had some time before meeting our guide, so we just walked around the carnival-like area that has built up around the ship. There was a merry-go-round, stuffed animal races for the little kids and food booths selling every kind of food you could think of - everything from falafels to Himalayan dumplings and most of the offerings smelled and looked really good.

rows of food booths

At the appointed time, we met back up with our British guide who has been leading tours for 45 years! From there, we basically did an introductory walk through Greenwich. We walked past several iconic attractions, such as the National Maritime Museum, the Old Royal Naval College, the Trinity Laban Conservatory of Music & Dance, The Queen’s House and Greenwich Park. She covered the history of these buildings from the 17^th and 18^th centuries until current day. She also named probably 25 or so movies that have been filmed in the area. We surely must have walked at least 3 miles. Several of us felt that the tour information was a bit misleading, as we thought we were going to visit the Royal Observatory and stand on the Prime Meridian line vs just seeing it from a far distance!

 

young men marching at Old Royal Naval College

shoes and stance under inspection

our guide "put us through" centuries of royal history

I'm sorry, but I tune out on British history after listening to a few centuries of Williams, Marys and Henrys. I'm sure I could do better if I was really interested, but when I'm tired, hot and my feet and back are hurting, it's probably not going to stick. Perhaps Ronnie can refresh my memory, or some of you history buffs will know.

 

I forget who this was that was dying (in the middle) or even what building it was on

a "drive by" walk - Royal Observatory at a distance

 

Fish, Eels and Pie appears to be closed (stewed eels, anyone?)

Also, it was a bit warmer today (75 degrees). I know, I know, I shouldn’t complain because 75 feels great when it's 100 degrees at home, but even 75 can feel pretty warm when walking and standing in the direct sun, which we were all afternoon. We departed the cruise terminal this morning at 9:30 am, returning around 4 pm, so it was a long day, especially after not getting enough sleep last night. We enjoy most of the excursions but it's sometimes nice to hear “welcome back” upon our return to the ship. 

By the way, I could get used to having a “room fairy” come in every time I leave my house, make my bed, clean my bathroom and fold my toilet paper and Kleenex into a little “v” before my return. 😊