greenwich

This last week went by so quickly it is hard to believe it is already Sunday.  On Tuesday we saw "The Phantom of the Opera" which was quite fun and a good experience to see another musical that we had discussed in class.  It was amazing to see what they were capable of on stage, especially in terms of the fantastic sets.  It really felt like I was there in their world, experiencing the drama between Christine, Raoul and the Phantom.

old ruins

Wednesday we went to Canterbury where we explored the Cathedral, some old ruins and the town.  It was a rather miserable day for sightseeing so some friends and I spent the better part of our time in a little cafe called "Tiny Tim's Tearoom."  It was quite a perfect afternoon.  Thursday night we had the chance to attend a candlelit music concert at St. Martin-in-the-Fields.  It was lovely though the hard seats made it hard to be comfortable.  But they did keep me from falling asleep.

Canterbury Cathedral

Our Friday and Saturday agendas were switched so on Saturday we did our exploring of London which meant a trip to Parliament and Greenwich. We got a tour of the Houses of Parliament which is actually named Westminster Palace.  It was quite extraordinary to see the two houses and hear some explanations of how British politics works.  It's a bit confusing and doesn't seem terribly effective but that is tradition and they hold to it very strictly.  Following our tour we took a ferry to Greenwich where some friends and I got lunch at the market and then stopped at some museums.  We saw the National Maritime Museum and the Royal Observatory where we took pictures on the Prime Meridian.  It was fun and a perfect day for exploring; the sun finally came out!

National Maritime Museum

Standing on the Prime Meridian