Greenwich

There are mercifully no dancing neighbours this morning but it is another 4:30am start nonetheless courtesy of jet lag.  Patisserie Valerie is becoming our usual breakfast haunt and we return there before meeting Amanda and travelling to Greenwich, the world heritage site, home of the Cutty Sark, Greenwich Meridian and hallowed flagstones trod by Kings and Admirals.

Cutty Sark

The sun is shining and it's warm as we walk around the Old Royal Naval College buildings.  The beautiful late-18th Century neoclassical interior of the Chapel is particularly beautiful. 

Chapel ceiling - Old Royal Naval College Greenwich

A day out from the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games and Greenwich as an Olympics venue means that vast swathes of area are fenced off and we cannot access the Queen's House and we must also first pass through security to access the National Maritime Museum.  We're also forced to divert around Greenwich Park to get to the Royal Observatory.  It is a small inconvenience however for the great privilege of seeing and experiencing such valuable history.

We return to the waterfront for some lunch before bidding adieu to Amanda as we each head off on our respective adventures tomorrow - she to Europe and Ross and I to the Lakes!

Our last evening in London is a quiet one.  Except for dinner at a restaurant close to our hotel and raised eyebrows at some of the insanely expensive gear on sale at nearby Selfridges (including watches the cost of a small planet), we keep to our room and force ourselves to stay awake until a more reasonable hour.

We have been in the UK for two days now and I still haven't heard from my Dad.  I'm hoping he is safely installed in Manchester where he intended to recover from his jet lag before starting on the walk.  In any case we will be meeting him tomorrow in St Bees.