rant: Time Traveling

On today's list of conquests: Mastering the Metro, Tower Bridge, Greenwich, The Cutty Sark and boat ride down the Thames.

Me and The Mike make our way out to Canary Wharf Station. Lessons learnt? - There are Oyster Cards. And then there are lines. And then there are zones. And then there are very tallllll escalators and very hottttt trains :)

Speaking of wharf, did you know -

So anyway, on the way to Canary Wharf, meet up with an old friend X(

And then met Canary Wharf - Britain's principle banking district. This is where all the big boys play chess with the economies of the world. This is also where Ogilvy London's Cabot square office is situated. Didn't get to see it though.

From there, we took the Docklands Light Railway right into my 6th grade geography textbook and the underwhelming address of the Greenwich Meridian at the Royal Observatory. TMD meets GMT. That ball-y thing you see there? That's it. That's where the line starts. The picture next to it is a 24-hour clock. Then a few pictures of the Royal Naval College and the Queen's house. Was too tired to read about it so I have no gyaan to pass on :)

But what I saw next, mom, dad and Tarun, you'll understand the significance of the most :)

What a beauty she is :) History Time - The Cutty Sark was the meanest and fastest Tea Clipper ever built. It was also one of the last. It's job: transport the first and best harvests of tea from the colonies. Built in 1869, this sail boat fought a loosing battle to the onset of steam boats and the Suez Canal. Sailboats couldn't pass through the canal and therefore had to still sail all the way around the Cape of Good Hope at the tip of Africa. This meant that they took four to five days more than the steam boats. And in the environment of commodities trading, rife with betting and piracy, this beautiful sea queen slowly sunk into the depths of disuse. The ship was named after the nickname of a witch - Cutty Sark. That's her on the figurehead holding a grey horses tail in her hand.

Attempts were made to restore the ship. But during the restoration, the hull caught fire. So the ship now has been damned to an inescapable state of limbo. Instead of resting in the comfort of the tides, it lies here, rather listlessly on a bed of glass.

But hang on, before we leave, lemme take a selfie.

As you might be able to tell by now - the day was grey and a downpour was inevitable. But it came at the most opportune moment I must say. We got onto the Thames Clipper that would take us back into central London. And just as we passed under tower bridge, the sky burst. Standing out on the deck, wind and water in my hair, I felt like a puppy dog on her first car ride :)

Before I sign off - a few more (phallic :} ) snapshots from the Thames - The Shard (UK's tallest building), The Tate Modern, The Oxo Tower.