Saturday, following the suggestion of the lovely policemen we met on Friday, we took off for Portobello Market. Veteran market-goers that we are, we were unprepared for this experience. The market, part permanent shops and part temporary vendor stalls, goes on along Portobello Road for 2 miles. It's quite well organized with antique dealers together, used clothing together, new clothes (mostly funky London young styles), outlets, fresh produce, etc. Much is what we've seen elsewhere in London but the mix was heady and fun and the people watching was great. While we often eat at market stalls, we really needed a seat so went into a surprisingly good Thai restaurant for some yellow curry and pad thai.
Stu found the two items he was searching for, a London Fireman's cap and socks, and I found a lovely scarf and a special gift for a friend. We never tired of the excitement of the thousands of people milling about, very friendly, very comfortable, relatively quiet and surprisingly so. The market goes through several different neighborhoods from lower end to higher end just off the main market street.
We took top seats on the double decker buses there and back, varying our route because we could, there's so many choices, and seeing ever more parts of greater London. We both needed a brief rest once back in our apartment. Dinner at home then out for our last theater experience of this London trip. We changed the pace and saw a drama, a thriller, Woman in Black. Two actors telling a ghost story, acting multiple roles as they spun their tale. We enjoyed it very much, even if it was not the most frightening play we've ever seen--as advertised. We have been talking about the changing nature of theater, from a production like Women in Black that used few props, few special effects primarily limited to sound tracks, to one like War Horse that was dependent upon the elaborate puppeteering and horse-like props. So what is theater? The audience and its imagination? Does it take more imagination to bring this ghost story to life or to create horses on stage from bits of wood and mesh?
We resolved to get an early start on Sunday so we could take some final photographs while London slept. Stu found some phone booths Saturday night and wanted to return with our cameras. We also found a metro station with a lift (elevator for all of you non-Brits) which we'll use on Monday for our trip to Heathrow airport. From Covent Garden we rode the underground (the subway) to Embankment metro station and then hopped the River Bus for a trip east on the Thames, destination Greenwich. This was another spur of the moment adventure, a recommendation by our Stonehenge tour guide, David. We've loved the spontaneity of our travels during this London trip and have benefitted from so many surprising sights and experiences. Greenwich proved to be another pleasant surprise, as was the boat ride.
Greenwich is the birthplace, as we came to learn, of the Meridian line. All points east and west are measured from the Meridian line situated in Greenwich. We have a certificate to prove we were there and a photo to confirm it! We also learned that the clock, that we take for granted, began here as well. It was important for sailors to be able to determine accurately where they were. Longitude and latitude was important, as was time of day so they could tell more about their locations from the stars. In the museum we saw some of the first clocks and were fascinated with the stories. We've not ever thought of this before and don't recall studying in school England's role in developing the longitudinal measure or the accurate clock.
The town of Greenwich is charming, an historical site, houses the Naval Academy, two markets, and several pubs. We had a traditional Sunday pub lunch of roast beef, Yorkshire pudding, and Pimm's. I'm not sure the Pimm's is so traditional, but it is a lovely drink. The food, as usual, was over cooked, but the experience was everything we hoped for and we were not disappointed. The day passed much too quickly. We reluctantly left Greenwich by boat for our last trip back to our flat. Tomorrow it is Iceland and another brief adventure.
Good bye London,
Stu and Adrienne
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