Glorious Greenwich and Delightful Docklands
I had a lovely lovely day today, one of those days that makes you forget all the crap and just enjoy the world. I decided that I didn't go out and see the marvelous city I live in enough, so I dragged ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
karne_k and Mouse out with me to Docklands and Greenwich. After the necessary evils of the District line we hopped on a DLR at Monument/Bank and travelled to Canary Wharf. I love pretty much everything about Docklands, the DLR is just like a little toy railway and the stations are so funky. Then Docklands itself is like walking into the future - all the buildings are shiny and laid out like a Sim City with carefully allocated commercial spaces and greenery and the DLR threading through the middle. I love the architecture and it looks spectacular on a day like today with a beautiful blue sky and bright sun. It was surprisingly lively today with lots of people milling around enjoying the sunshine, although the roads were still eerily empty of actual vehicles.
We drifted down Millwall Docks and had lunch at a Puzzle Pub sitting in the sun beside the water. We continued the trek south through Millwall Park and the Greenwich Foot Tunnel to emerge next to the beautiful Cutty Sark and suddenly seem to step back from the future to the past. Greenwich reminds me a bit of Brighton and it seems to just sit on the edge of London looking at it, without really feeling a part of it. We briefly wandered through the market but it was packed, so we treked up the hill (my knees hate me) and wandered the gardens for a bit. After a length pause to doze under a tree and watch the pigeons we drifted our way back to the Observatory. I continue my trend of visiting Greenwich without actually going into the Observatory as it was absolutely packed but I stood and enjoyed the amazing view over London from the top of the hill.
We allowed gravity to take it's course and returned to sea level for a quick tour of the main hall of the Maritime Museum. I have to say that it didn't really grab me, although by this point my energy was waning somewhat. After a traumatic stop at Starbucks (they just weren't as awake as London Starbucks and couldn't seem to deal with my (not exactly complex) order) I decided it was just too nice a day to retreat underground and persuaded the other two to join me on a cruise to Westminster. I'd not done this bit of the Thames before and it's quite interesting to see the various old wharfs and warehouses, many of which have been converted into nice looking flats. It was a shame the boat was packed and we couldn't get a seat at the edge, making it somewhat difficult to see anything clearly.
We arrived in Westminster and were forced onto a tube (it is walkable, but my feet and knees were really starting to hate me) and the evening disappeared in sorting photos, tending to sunburn (again), cooking bolognase for tonight and lasagne for tomorrow and watching some moderately poor TV.
Favourite photos:
There are loads more photos at Flickr. On a day like today, London is a truly amazing city to live in.
karne_k and Mouse out with me to Docklands and Greenwich. After the necessary evils of the District line we hopped on a DLR at Monument/Bank and travelled to Canary Wharf. I love pretty much everything about Docklands, the DLR is just like a little toy railway and the stations are so funky. Then Docklands itself is like walking into the future - all the buildings are shiny and laid out like a Sim City with carefully allocated commercial spaces and greenery and the DLR threading through the middle. I love the architecture and it looks spectacular on a day like today with a beautiful blue sky and bright sun. It was surprisingly lively today with lots of people milling around enjoying the sunshine, although the roads were still eerily empty of actual vehicles.We drifted down Millwall Docks and had lunch at a Puzzle Pub sitting in the sun beside the water. We continued the trek south through Millwall Park and the Greenwich Foot Tunnel to emerge next to the beautiful Cutty Sark and suddenly seem to step back from the future to the past. Greenwich reminds me a bit of Brighton and it seems to just sit on the edge of London looking at it, without really feeling a part of it. We briefly wandered through the market but it was packed, so we treked up the hill (my knees hate me) and wandered the gardens for a bit. After a length pause to doze under a tree and watch the pigeons we drifted our way back to the Observatory. I continue my trend of visiting Greenwich without actually going into the Observatory as it was absolutely packed but I stood and enjoyed the amazing view over London from the top of the hill.
We allowed gravity to take it's course and returned to sea level for a quick tour of the main hall of the Maritime Museum. I have to say that it didn't really grab me, although by this point my energy was waning somewhat. After a traumatic stop at Starbucks (they just weren't as awake as London Starbucks and couldn't seem to deal with my (not exactly complex) order) I decided it was just too nice a day to retreat underground and persuaded the other two to join me on a cruise to Westminster. I'd not done this bit of the Thames before and it's quite interesting to see the various old wharfs and warehouses, many of which have been converted into nice looking flats. It was a shame the boat was packed and we couldn't get a seat at the edge, making it somewhat difficult to see anything clearly.
We arrived in Westminster and were forced onto a tube (it is walkable, but my feet and knees were really starting to hate me) and the evening disappeared in sorting photos, tending to sunburn (again), cooking bolognase for tonight and lasagne for tomorrow and watching some moderately poor TV.
Favourite photos:
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There are loads more photos at Flickr. On a day like today, London is a truly amazing city to live in.
