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Last Sunday (29th July) Marcos and I went to my work to watch the Red Bull Air Race (although we had no commentary, we still had the best view from the 30th floor!), but after watching the little dingy planes go by like 4 times, it became a bit boring (mainly - probably - cause there were no commentary) so we hopped on the train down to Greenwich.
Now, I reeeally have to burn out my brain to think what that stupid line is called. Greenwich Mediterranean? No. What is that line called again that separates east and west? ...think-think-think... ah! Meridian Time Line. No, that doesn't separate east from west, does it? I'm confused now. The reason why I don't actually know is because we had to pay to get in and we thought it was just stupid to stand in line to have a picture taken by some stupid statue ;-) The parks were really amazing though and (as always) there were many cheeky little squirrels ... beautiful trees ... green grass... it was a really nice walk!
Today (2 August) Marcos and I both took the day off and got London Passes (it's a day-pass that costs £30 and it allows you entry into about 56 places. So it's a good way to do sightseeing across London). We started off at the London Aquarium (of course!) that had bigger sharks than the Brighton Aquarium and which got me in a slight panic. I wont go into the fisheees again otherwise you'll read until dawn. We then caught a Catamaran down the Thames to Tower of London where we saw the big Cullinan Diamond. Interesting facts about this diamond is, is that at the time when it was found (in SA in 1905) it was the largest diamond crystal found - 3,106.75 carats!! The stone was cut into 3 large parts and eventually into 11 smaller stones. The largest gem of the stone is named the Great star of Africa (530 carats) and is set in the Royal Scepter (picture attached) which we also saw on display at the Tower of London. A breathtaking diamond!! We also saw the Crown Jewels and it was rather amazing seeing all the different crowns for the future/past kings and queens!
From the Tower of London we made our way to the Royal Mews (the Queen's stables) where we saw some horses (not enough to my liking), and also the coaches. The Golden State Coach was rather impressive!! Weighing a massive 4 tons!! To get the coach out of the "hall/room" that its in takes something stupid like half a day!! Its just too big to fit through normal doors. We also saw the coach that the Queen usually rides in- the "Scottish" coach. Very pretty!
Then we made our way across London to Hampton Court. Now, Hampton Court used to be a Royal Palace but for the life of me I cant remember now who used to live there!!! Its very famous for the Tudor-style kitchens, the hedge-maze, the stunning gardens, the state apartments and the Royal Tennis Court. We arrived just before closing time so we had to speed-walk through the palace. Although I have to admit: seen one palace; seen 'em all. (I think Windsor Castle is much more impressive tho!). After the palace closed for the day we took a walk through the beautiful gardens and then whilst walking around the palace we discovered an open door, went inside and found people playing "real tennis" on the Royal Tennis Court! They actually call it "real tennis" and not just "tennis". The guy tried to explain the game, but it got so complicated that I just stopped listening.
Now I'm tired of typing.
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