Last Sunday (yes, I know I’m way late on this) I got to go on a bus tour of London and then visit Greenwich. Best of all, the trip was run through Faraday, so it was free.

We met at Faraday on Sunday morning and then boarded coaches (buses) to go on a 2-hour bus tour of London. We went all over the city and got to see the Parliament buildings, Big Ben, the Thames, and several statues outside the parliament buildings of historical greats such as Winston Churchill, David Lloyd George, Abraham Lincoln and Nelson Mandela.

But the highlight of the day was definitely getting to visit Greenwich. You can drive over there or take a train, but we chose the more fun option and walked through a tunnel that goes under the Thames and comes out right near Greenwich.

Photo credit: Claire Dunderman

Once we got to Greenwich, we had a few hours to walk around and grab lunch. One of my favorite things about England/Ireland so far has been the prevalence of these awesome markets where you can buy food and tons of other fun stuff. The Greenwich Market was no different. People were selling clothes, jewelry, paintings, books and lots and lots of food!

Photo credit: Claire Dunderman

For lunch, we stopped at a vendor that was selling meals consisting of various combinations of meat, potatoes and cheese. The meal I got was made up of strips of beef, carmelized onions, potatoes, melted cheddar cheese, gravy and Yorkshire pudding. It was delicious! I have never tried Yorkshire pudding before and was kind of disappointed to find that it didn’t taste like anything, even when soaked in gravy.

Photo credit: Claire Dunderman

For dessert, we got chocolate covered fruit from a nearby stand. There was probably more chocolate than fruit, but the fruit was definitely in there somewhere under all that chocolate.

The painted hall

After that, we wandered through the grounds of the Royal Naval College. One of the highlights of this was getting to see the beautiful painted hall and the chapel. Both were gorgeous and covered in plenty of ornate carvings and paintings.

The last stop of the day was the Greenwich Prime Meridian and the Royal Observatory Tower, both of which were located on top of a giant hill with some incredible views.

I’ll be going to some more places in and around London this weekend and will try to post about them next week. Our flat gets wifi in two weeks, and after that I will definitely be posting more regularly.

Cheers!

View from the Royal Observatory

The Prime Meridian