Greenwich, Burritos/Ecuatorianas/Mexicanos, Mayhem

Yesterday we were up quite early for a boat ride down the Thames to Greenwich. The driver, though not officially a tour guide, knew a lot about the river and the ways in which it has defined London over the centuries. We saw all the bridges, the old wharf warehouses, and a boat full of drunk footballers... all before 10am!

At Greenwich, I went with group of Grinnellians that I hadn't spent much time with to the Greenwich Market. So cool! It had a bazaar-type feel, with all sorts of ethnic food, as well as little street vendors selling handmade goods, etc, etc. For lunch, I befriended a woman from Ecuador and a man from Mexico working at a burrito stall. I got to speak to them in Spanish, which was a lot of fun, and they made me the most outrageous burrito I've ever had. Seriously.

We wandered around the market for about an hour, during which I also discovered a guy selling books he wrote telling the history of ancient Rome, only the protagonists were CATS! The titles included: "The Adventures of Spartipuss," "Catligula," etc. So cute. I bought a little canvas tote bag from him that features an interpretation of his own cat, Bleep.

Determined to actually see some things of historical relevance, we went to the National Maritime Museum, which is also free to get into. They had some pretty interesting exhibits, but by FAR the coolest item they had was Admiral Nelson's coat that he wore during the Battle of Trafalgar, and it actually has the bullet hole clearly visible in the jacket from the bullet that killed him. After the museum, we wandered up to the observatory in search of the prime meridian. Pretty anti-climactic, considering it's pretty much just a gilded gold line in the ground, but it was cool to see.

After the boat ride back, we hung around the flat for a bit before my flat-mates decided to go on a quest for Buckfast, a fortified, caffinated WINE. Ewww! However, we are all in agreement that we should try it. What we learned: 1. Buckfast is nowhere to be found in London, apparently it's more frequently found in northern England and Ireland. 2. When Buckfast is mentioned to the locals, they cringe and ask why we're looking for "that rubbish". After the failed quest, everyone came back here and we had a little party. We invited the other Grinnell students and some Oberlin kids and hung around, listened to music and bonded. At around 11:30, we decided to set out in search of a disco right by our flat, called the Social. We found it alright, and the place was SO much fun. The music was great and there weren't too many people, and we danced until the place closed at around 1am. Suffice to say, we'll definitely be going back there again!