Our first day in London was amazing - amazing, amazing, AMAZING! Absolutely fabulous... Sue, Mom's friend, had planned and arranged practically
everything! First thing we did after leaving the house (or rather a mansion of five stories) much later than when we planned was go to the tube station, where we hopped on the tube and then onto a tour boat, which told us . . .
everything! First thing we did after leaving the house (or rather a mansion of five stories) much later than when we planned was go to the tube station, where we hopped on the tube and then onto a tour boat, which told us . . .
little facts about some historical facts along the way.
When we got off at our stop at Greenwhich, where we went into Discover Greenwhich. We learned a lot about Christopher Wren in just fifteen minutes, before we had to go to another museum up the hill called the Royal Observatory Museum, where the big red ball on a pole on top of the roof is (I missed the proper name for it).
When we got off at our stop at Greenwhich, where we went into Discover Greenwhich. We learned a lot about Christopher Wren in just fifteen minutes, before we had to go to another museum up the hill called the Royal Observatory Museum, where the big red ball on a pole on top of the roof is (I missed the proper name for it).
The 0 point of the Earth on a globe -- the beginning of it all. Birch is listening to an audio guide . . .
We got there at about12:50 pm, and at 12:55 pm it raised itself half way up the small pole, and at 12:58 pm all the way up the pole, and at precisely 1:00 pm it dropped down. What's so special? Why were so many people crowded around it? I have no idea, really, but it's purpose in the olden days was to let sailors know where they were, if it wasn't too misty or fogged up.
The museum was amazing, and Mom sent Birch and I with the challenge to really understand what Longitude and Latitude were - that wasn't hard, because we had the audio guide, and after going through some rooms we found two documentaries, one on Longitude and the other on Latitude.
You can measure your latitude form the height from the sea to the sun (not literally - just from where you're standing in the crow's nest or something) at noon. The closer you are to the equator, the higher the sun is. The farther away to you are, the lower. The latitude lines are parallel to each other and just keep going around and around the Earth in circles, whereas longitude lines meet at the North and South pole. You can also measure latitude at night using the same method with the sun, only with the Pole star.
The 24 longitude lines are the 24 hours of the day. They are based in Greenwhich London, where the founder of longitude and latitude lived as well as the Monarchy. It was also based off here because all the stars had been observed from the founder's house, and the lines were based off the stars. Noon in Greenwhich is midnight on the other side of the world (Fiji, New Zealand) and a line called the International Line runs through the former countries mentioned, from Greenwhich to the opposite side of the world. Canada and the U.S. are divided on the 49th parallel, in the west.
Combining longitude and latitude at sea, you can pretty much know where you are on the map, if you know how to read it right.
The museum was amazing, and Mom sent Birch and I with the challenge to really understand what Longitude and Latitude were - that wasn't hard, because we had the audio guide, and after going through some rooms we found two documentaries, one on Longitude and the other on Latitude.
You can measure your latitude form the height from the sea to the sun (not literally - just from where you're standing in the crow's nest or something) at noon. The closer you are to the equator, the higher the sun is. The farther away to you are, the lower. The latitude lines are parallel to each other and just keep going around and around the Earth in circles, whereas longitude lines meet at the North and South pole. You can also measure latitude at night using the same method with the sun, only with the Pole star.
The 24 longitude lines are the 24 hours of the day. They are based in Greenwhich London, where the founder of longitude and latitude lived as well as the Monarchy. It was also based off here because all the stars had been observed from the founder's house, and the lines were based off the stars. Noon in Greenwhich is midnight on the other side of the world (Fiji, New Zealand) and a line called the International Line runs through the former countries mentioned, from Greenwhich to the opposite side of the world. Canada and the U.S. are divided on the 49th parallel, in the west.
Combining longitude and latitude at sea, you can pretty much know where you are on the map, if you know how to read it right.
After finding out that, we were rushed out because we still had to go to the Tower of London. I'll skip pass our delays and all the boring stuff, and just get to the actual fun part - the tour! We'd thought we'd missed it but we actually hadn't, and good thing, because with audio guides in a place as big as the Tower of London I sometimes tune out after half an hour, just like any other kid (I think -- I hope).
The tour guide was SO funny, giving the gruesome stories some humour to them! He told us about Anne Berlin, Jane Grey and Katherine something-or-other (I confess I'm horrible with names - you're lucky the other two stuck!),
wives of Henry (don't know which), and they were all beheaded - Anne for not producing a baby, Jane because someone older than she was was jealous (she was only seventeen!) and Katherine because... Well, I don't really remember. May I remind you that it's eleven o'clock at night and I am extremely tired, so are you still really expecting me to remember small details when I already remember so much? Anyways, back to the Tower, he also told us some funny stories of love, and dungeons being wine cellars and such... It was really enjoyable, and I
was a little disappointed when the tour ended.
Here are some pictures for your pleasure . . .
wives of Henry (don't know which), and they were all beheaded - Anne for not producing a baby, Jane because someone older than she was was jealous (she was only seventeen!) and Katherine because... Well, I don't really remember. May I remind you that it's eleven o'clock at night and I am extremely tired, so are you still really expecting me to remember small details when I already remember so much? Anyways, back to the Tower, he also told us some funny stories of love, and dungeons being wine cellars and such... It was really enjoyable, and I
was a little disappointed when the tour ended.
Here are some pictures for your pleasure . . .
Question: Why do they wear their chin straps on their face?
Classic picture of London! You've got everything; a bit of the Tower of London, the Tower Bridge, the Thames, adn the typical lamp-post.
We went to see the crown
jewels - oh, magnificent! Emeralds, saphires, rubies, amythests,
pearls, velvet, gold, silver, and the world's largest found diamond!
Everything was glorious... But why just sitting there in cases? Well,
I guess there's only one queen with one head, so she can't possibly
wear them all at once! After that we went back to the house for dinner, and then to a theater to see The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe! It was amazing, far beyond any of our expectations! There was snow and smoke and fire and lights and - oh, the costumes were magnificent! Whoever the costume designer is, they definetly need a lot of credit! It was amazing - especially Azlan! And all the woodland critters - and the actors were fabulous too! I especially liked Mr. and Mrs. Beaver as a pair, they were hilarious!
Now I'm afraid (not so much actually) I'll have to settle down and
sleep for the rest of the night, and I hope you enjoyed this blog,
because it was a lot of work! (Just joking!)
Bye,
Allie
P.S. Did you know, I'm actually writing this thinking in an English accent? It's odd!
jewels - oh, magnificent! Emeralds, saphires, rubies, amythests,
pearls, velvet, gold, silver, and the world's largest found diamond!
Everything was glorious... But why just sitting there in cases? Well,
I guess there's only one queen with one head, so she can't possibly
wear them all at once! After that we went back to the house for dinner, and then to a theater to see The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe! It was amazing, far beyond any of our expectations! There was snow and smoke and fire and lights and - oh, the costumes were magnificent! Whoever the costume designer is, they definetly need a lot of credit! It was amazing - especially Azlan! And all the woodland critters - and the actors were fabulous too! I especially liked Mr. and Mrs. Beaver as a pair, they were hilarious!
Now I'm afraid (not so much actually) I'll have to settle down and
sleep for the rest of the night, and I hope you enjoyed this blog,
because it was a lot of work! (Just joking!)
Bye,
Allie
P.S. Did you know, I'm actually writing this thinking in an English accent? It's odd!
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