Greenwich (Gren-itch)

  Yesterday we visited the old naval city of Greenwich.  Sitting right next to the Thames on the outskirts of London, it basically served as the gateway to the empire for over 300 years.  But it's most famous contribution to the world is the Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) which was established at the Royal Observatory.  It is also home to the Prime Meridian, from which all time zones are based.  So technically the observatory itself is in both the East and West hemispheres. 
  This was crucial to the expanding global economy.  The Prime Meridian also helped ships determine their position in the seas.  They would keep a clock on the ship and  at Noon, Greenwich time, they would measure the angle of the sun in their sky.  The further the sun was from the noon position, the further they were from home.  This was the first time sailors could determine the position laterally not just vertically.
   And although these methods are now obsolete due to modern GPS, it was the peak of technology in its day.  The Royal Observatory even had a time ball on top that rose and drop every day at 1. This was so all the sailors in the ports knew the time- and when to break for lunch.  The ball does the same thing to this day.
   But in addition to the historical sites, Greenwich the town also has a lot to offer.  We found a quaint little cheese shop on one of the side streets that had more varieties than I ever thought possible.  There was goat cheese, French cheese, Dutch cheese, cheese with nuts, cheese with fruit in it, etc.  But I, the timid American, just chose the first one that had "cheddar' in the name (I was NOT disappointed).  After that we strolled down to the Trafalgar Tavern for a beer while we soaked in the view of the Thames and Canary Wharf, London's financial district.  We even sampled the customary whitebait: little fried fish that are native to the Thames.  And we're talking the whole fish- eyes and all.
   Between its historical significance and unique culture, it was no surprise in 1997 when it was named a World Heritage Site.