The Center of the World

London's Greenwich Neighborhood Lies Directly On The Prime Meridian

Another day, another adventure!

A key part of getting acclimated to the city of London so far has been adjusting to the time zone change. We thought that our red-eye flight from Miami would set us up perfectly, especially since we were able to get some sleep on the flight.

We were a little too optimistic.

The first few days were a huge adjustment. Whether it was because of the time zone hop, or because of our uncontainable excitement about being here, we are not sure. But we had a tough time getting to sleep before 2:30 AM.

After five days in our new routine, however, we are finally starting to normalize our sleep schedule and start our days earlier!

Yesterday, we got up around 8:00 AM, did some work on the videos, and headed out for a 40 minute walk to Borough Market.

This has been towards the top of my to-do list since we arrived. It is a giant, partially indoor market hall that sits right below London Bridge. As soon as we walked in, we were slapped in the face with aromas of artisan meats, cheeses, and baked bread!

Unfortunately, the scotch egg stand called “Scotchtails” that I was excited to try wasn’t there. It was hard to be too disappointed with the array of other options though.

Everything from Mediterranean cuisine to Jamaican jerk chicken to Iraqi style kebabs. There were even tacos, which we didn’t expect to see much of over here!

After sharing a delicious seafood paella and sourdough pizza, we topped off the eclectic meal with a hot apple crumble topped with vanilla custard.

We were both overwhelmed with the variety of choices, so I think it is safe to say that a second visit is in the cards! It was a very manageable walk through the financial district and across the river on London Bridge.

Our next stop was the eastern neighborhood of Greenwich. This area piqued our interest for several reasons, but the main attraction for me was this incredible view.

This is Greenwich Park, which overlooks most of Eastern and Central London. The combination of the natural topography and the lack of tall buildings on this particular stretch of the river bank make this outlook quite unbeatable.

The park has quite a lot to offer as well! It is home to the National Maritime Museum and the Royal Observatory.

The most unique aspect of this area, however, is that the Prime Meridian cuts directly through the park!

For those who may not remember from school, the Prime Meridian is essentially the inverse of the Equator. It directly marks the western and eastern hemispheres of the planet.

Although the Meridian statue was closed for construction. we were still able to stand on the exact line where the Prime Meridian lies. We were quite literally in the center of the world in terms of longitude!

I think this is quite fitting for the city of London, because I have already noticed what an incredible melting pot of cultures it is. It feels like the center of the world, both culturally and influentially.

More to come as we approach the weekend, including some videos on the YouTube channel! Make sure you subscribe and set up notifications if you haven’t already!