Olympic Park and Greenwich6 Jun 2012
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| Paul went out to buy some bread etc. for breakfast but was really disappointed there were no little bakeries etc. in the neighbourhood that he could find. He did manage to bring back some pain au chocolates and we had those with coffee - there is a Nespresso machine in the room. We headed out at 9:45, walked over Westminster Bridge and got on the tube there at Westminster. We headed out to Bromley By Bow, the instructions of where to get off for the Blue Badge Olympic Walk. I had booked in advance, as they advised, but at no point did anyone ask about this, so I really think it probably wasn't necessary. There were 2 people at the station who directed us where to go for the start of the walk. We were a bit dismayed to see crowds of people heading over that way, but carried on. We went into the Tesco nearby and bought some drinks, then found the meeting point. They did split the crowd up a lot, so that was fine. Our tour guide was called Jackie - she took our money - £7.50 for adults and £5.00 for children and it was cash only. We then hung around for about 15 minutes until she got a few more people, then we set off. She told us a lot about the local area, why it was chosen for the Games and some interesting information about the Ancient and Modern Olympics. Reuben walked alongside the guide between stops and chattered away to her, asking lots of questions. It is in no way a scenic walk, but we started beside the River Lea and saw an interesting statue commemorating 4 miners who were killed by deadly gas in this area. They each reached to the next one to try and save them and were overcome. The statue is of a pair of linked hands. We carried on along the tow path until we could see the Orbit - the statue which is made of steel. Reuben was very taken with the viewing gallery and wanted to come back in 2014 when it opens to the public. During the tour it was noisy with construction noise and very busy, so it is not a peaceful experience. We saw lots of the new apartment blocks, one is all purple and shades of lavender. It is on the site of the old Yardley factory where they boxed up lavender water. We skirted around the perimeter fence of the Olympic Park and did not see a great deal really. We did see the Aquatics Centre and some other things in the distance, but the best view of the stadium we got was from a DLR train heading to Canary Wharf! The tour ended up outside John Lewis where she told us to go to the top floor and look out of the viewing area there. We decided to go for something to eat in the new Westfields shopping centre. It is really lovely, full of wonderful shops, bars and restaurants. We decided to eat in a place called the Cow. It is a bit like a cow barn, with cow themes everywhere. We had very rustic style but delicious food, pulled pork sandwich and ploughmans. It came on a wooden board and the presentation was great. Afterwards we went back to John Lewis and had a look out of the viewing area. The view is not that wonderful. They have an Olympic shop area next to this, Reuben bought a Wenlock mascot and Olympic themed tube train model. He left it behind in the toy section when he was having a look, but we noticed and dashed back to get it. We got the DLR after that towards Canary Wharf. We got an excellent view of the stadium from the train, and Reuben kept a little ginger haired boy amused with Wenlock. The other little boy was extremely chatty and very noisy too! We took the Greenwich Foot Tunnel from Island Gardens to the Cutty Sark. Amazing to think we were walking under the Thames, but the novelty wore off as it was a long way and felt damp and freezing cold. I had a bit of brain freeze. I was glad to come out the other end and Reuben and I went up in the lift. We were greeted with the lovely Cutty Sark when we came out. It really did look stunning with its glass sea. Reuben and some other children ran through a water feature thing and we headed through Greenwich. It is really lovely there. We walked up to the Royal Observatory. The grounds are stunning but some of the park area is being used for the Olympics and they are building seating so you can't walk through all of it. We tramped up the steep hill to the Royal Observatory - the view at the top is so worth the walk. We could see Canary Wharf in the distance, had a great view of the Dome and even St Paul's Cathedral. The sun came out too so that was an extra bonus. We paid £15 for a family ticket to do the basics at the Royal Observatory. We thought it was a bit steep, but actually when we got inside we all really enjoyed it. We queued up to stand on the Meridian Line and then went into the exhibition. I found it fascinating - I didn't think I would, but learning all about longitude was so interesting. We were all getting really tired, so headed back down to Greenwich and found the tube station. We got a tube to Canary Wharf then changed and got the Jubilee line. It was so packed in Canary Wharf with commuters and we were rammed onto the tube. I was glad to get out at Waterloo. We walked back to the hotel, had a rest for an hour and then headed out for something to eat. We saw in a leaflet there were restaurants and bars on a street nearby called Lower Marsh so decided to try that out. We didn't really find anything, and headed back towards our hotel when we saw a place called the Waterloo Bar and Grill. We decided to eat in there. They didn't do children's meals so we asked for an extra plate and gave Reuben some of ours. I had barnsley chop and champ, Paul had a burger. His burger was dry and not very appetising, my chop was tasty but a bit overdone. All in all, not the best meal ever. We went back to the hotel, barely able to put one foot in front of the other, we were all so very tired after all the walking. |
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