Harrison's to Harrods!

Monday morning 25th - a 'work' day so we couldn't start riding the tube until 'off peak' began at 9.30.  We decided to get the tube to Embankment station so that we could catch a ferry to Greenwich.  Wow - a super fast clipper and we were on a 30 minute trip down the Thames - on a lovely sunny day.  I immediately liked the feel of Greenwich village - a cosy little town.  We walked uphill to the Royal Observatory.  Plenty of work going on in the village - it will be the equestrian and modern pentathlon event area for the Olympics/Para Olympics.
Greenwich Park - the oldest enclosed Royal park with majestic views right across the River Thames to Docklands and the whole of London.  Also home to the Royal Observatory and the prime meridian.  A meridian is a north-south line selected as the zero reference line for astronomical observations. By comparing thousands of observations taken from the same meridian it is possible to build up an accurate map of the sky.


David was excited to see "Harrison's Clock".  Harrison was a self-educated English carpenter and later a clockmaker. He invented the marine chronometer, a long-sought device in solving the problem of establishing the East-West position or longitude of a ship at sea, thus revolutionising and extending the possibility of safe long distance sea travel in the Age of Sail. So David says, that without this invention, history, as we know it today, would be different.  Linda says, unless someone else invented it - but not at that time!

Next, we just had to go to Knightsbridge station to find the 'holy grail' of shopping (according to Linda's Uncle Frank) 'Harrods'.
'Harrods - Opened in 1849 and possibly the most famous department store in the world, Harrods boasts a phenomenal range of luxurious departments, a palatial food hall and a bewildering number of restaurants and cafes.'


Yep - we did it.
The highlight of the afternoon was finding 'ca puccino' where we enjoyed a classic coffee and pastry.  Our server was a delightful young man named Ernesto who was from Spain - and we encouraged Davidcito to order in 'espanol' (he said, 'Thanks for dropping me in it!')....  Ernesto was very understanding!