The London Bridge Isn't Falling Down

So when people said I would be obsessed with London...they were right! Wow! What a weekend. Its not even fair to only spend one whole day in London. Its too much of a tease! There is so much to see and do that we found ourselves being torn in so many directions trying to fit it all in. Of course that didn't happen and we will have to go back a couple more times in order to do that.
We did however hit up some of the big spots.
We woke up and headed straight to Notting Hill for some market shopping on Portabello Road. It was crazy crowded but a great spot for some reasonably priced purchases. The sidewalks were lined with various musicians trying to make a penny which only added to the flavor of the area. We had lunch at Gourmet Burgers, the BEST cheeseburgers we've had. Then we hoped on the tube and hit up the big stop of Westminster with Parliament and The London EYE towering over the Thames River. Incredible.

After touring around that area for a little bit we went in search of a boat tour that would take us to Greenwich. Greenwich is famous for one thing and there is really only one thing to go there for. Take a Guess.
Oh remember back to 5th grade when we learned about longitude an latitude? You know the Eastern and Western Hemisphere? Something called the PRIME MERIDIAN? It runs right through the middle of Greenwich, about an hour boat ride from London.
HOW CAN YOU BE SO CLOSE TO THAT AND NOT GO? we HAD to see this. Its not everyday you can be in two places at once.
We hop on his overcrowded boat full of Asian tourists who were sleeping in the prime seats(annoying) and are guided past the London Tower, Globe Theatre, London Bridge and many more incredible tourist attractions. We get off of this boat and basically follow the crowd down the small streets of Greenwich. Its funny because all of a sudden there is a pack of people stampeding down the streets headed to the park- Im sure the locals are thinking "Another boat must have just docked. Watch out!" So we head to this gigantic park and haul up this hill literally at like an 82 degree angle to what we thought would be a huge line painted on the ground saying "PRIME MERIDIAN! EASTERN HEMISPHERE HERE, WESTERN THERE" nope! Everyone was just fascinated by this clock and all the measurements underneath it. Colette Laurel and I were like "Where is this frickin Prime Meridian?! I didn't climb up this right angle of a hill to see a clock!"
So we went over to see what all the hype was about this stupid clock. Oh wait. haha. this is kind of a big deal. its the clock that the WHOLE WORLD GOES BY! It was the clock with the OFFICIAL TIME...for the whole WORLD! and we just walk right by it. Underneath it were iron knobs measuring out one foot, one inch, one yard, one meter , etc. So incase I ever want to know and compare my measurement of one foot to the original I just have to travel to Greenwich to do it! The official ONE FOOT measurement for the WHOLE WORLD!! crazy crazy.

So that was neat and we got pictures but we are still in search of the big white line painted on the ground. We are asking everyone.
They all tell us "Its right over there by the clock"
"is there a line on the ground?"
"yes there should be"
"We dont see it!"
"its by the clock"

Ok let me tell you why we didnt see the 0 degree longitude. it was like behind this gate on the side of the wall with a GROOVE in the ground like on a sidewalk between two cement slabs. There was no sign. No, that would be too easy. Instead you have to wind your way and scooch your way through a narrow gate..im talking turning your body sideways- to this place on the wall with faded prime meridian sign that obviously dates back to a long time ago. Did I mention the sidewalk is probably as long as I am before there is a wall of bushes hiding the cliff off of the 97 degree angle hill that we climbed up. And tourists are packed in this area trying to take a decent picture. Interesting.
Needless to say I have been in TWO places at once. TWO HEMISPHERES at once, Two parts of the WORLD at once. AHHHHH!!!! The feeling was not powerful which I was hoping for. No, the feeling was exactly the same as if I were standing across the Oklahoma/Texas border which feels the same as if i was standing at the intersection of Texas and University in College Station, which feels the same as if i was standing on the property line of my house and my neighbors house. It wasn't the "Walk to Remember" type feeling that Mandy Moore gets when Shane West takes her to accomplish her goal of being in two places at once. Oh Nicholas Sparks.

Then we managed our way back to Westminster by taking a RED double decker LONDON BUS and the tube. We had tickets to get on the London Eye and we hit that up just as the sun was melting in darkness and saw a spectacular view of London in the evening.
After changing we found a hip part of town where we showed off our new dresses while escaping from the realities that this London dream will be over tomorrow and its back to boring Windermere to be a responsible adult and teach kids about maths.