Day out in Greenwich

Several weeks ago when Geoff's parents were here visiting us, we took the opportunity to join them in seeing some other areas of London we haven't explored yet. The six of us headed to Greenwich, which is on the east side of central London, for the day. This was our first major excursion with Ashton and she did great. I had her wrapped up on me the whole day, which was perfect for keeping her warm since it was COLD out. Other than a couple breaks to feed, she pretty much slept the entire time. This was also our first significant outing with Olivia since she moved out of diapers and into big girl panties. She did great catching on to the whole potty training thing when we started back in January, but she had been leery of public toilets. Can't say that I blame her. That meant any outing we took with her couldn't extend more than just a couple hours. This outing, we took a little portable seat that sits on top of the big toilet to prevent her for falling in and she didn't have any problem with it. That was the last big hurdle in her toilet training and a big relief that she has moved past that barrier. So many more excursions and travel outside of the house are available to us again!

Anyways, our first stop in Greenwich was the National Maritime Museum. They had an Ansel Adams exhibit going on that we all wanted to see. Well, all wanted to see except Olivia. I guess I'm a little slow to catch on sometimes, but I am learning that Olivia and museums (or castles/palaces which there are plenty of around here) don't usually work out so well. There are too many things she wants to touch and climb on that are off limits so it means constantly telling she can't do something. Which is too bad because London has a ton of museums and most of them are free. I'll sure we'll make it to them, it will just be a different experience for Geoff and myself. This museum did have a small children's area which she enjoyed. But any hopes that Geoff and I had to casually peruse and fully take in the exhibit and museum were quickly dashed.

Next stop was the Royal Observatory, which is the home of Greenwich Mean Time and the Prime Meridian of the world, representing Longitude 0º.

The observatory was at the top of a rather steep hill. It was a pretty good climb, especially for Geoff who had to push the stroller + Olivia up it, but offered nice views from the top of some of the city.

Before we left house for Greenwich, we told Olivia we were going to go on a boat and the whole morning while we were at the museum and the observatory, she kept asking for the boat. Poor thing fell asleep right before we reached the ship. However, Ashton needed to eat before we toured the ship so Olivia got to snooze a bit before we headed onboard.

The Cutty Sark is one of the last surviving tea clippers. The ship had been reopened just last year after being closed awhile for renovation. The ship was definitely more of Olivia's style as there was very little that was off limits for her to touch and climb on.