The End

For my last day in London, I went to Greenwich for some more adventures.
To get there, I took the DLR, an automated train with a good view from the front:

Roller-coaster feel:

Stepping into Greenwich, you see two Rolls Royces parked next to each other.

Greenwich park:

The Royal Observatory was founded in 1675 and is the official home of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) and the Prime Meridian, the longitude = 0 reference point.  The official new year / day is measured from here:

View of London from the top of the observatory:

Old telescope part:

Steampunk art exhibit:

The Primer Meridian:

Being swarmed by tourists as always:

Trivia fact: GPS does not indicate exactly 0 longitude because the GPS reference point is a few hundred meters away from the actual Prime Meridian:

There are quite a few interesting time pieces in the galleries here.  The one on the right below was made by the company that designed the Big Ben clock:

Dolphin sundial shows the time where the tails meet.  Unfortunately it does not see much use in London:

A piece of equipment used by Edmond Halley of Halley's Comet fame:

Telescope dome (this place still is an astronomical observatory):

Classic old timers:

Vintage London Underground clock:

One of the largest and oldest telescopes in Europe!  Unfortunately you need to separate night booking to use it:

A curious 24 hour clock, just look at the numerals!:

These standards were used in the olden days as reference:

Observatory from the bottom of the hill:

Time to explore the park!

Old ruined fountain:

The Elizabeth Tree, supposedly important to royalty, but long dead:

Queen's House:

National Maritime Museum:

The Big Map!

Model of a vessel used by the East India Tea Company:

Hong Kong Port:

Trading in China:

Exiting the museum, there is a curious sign:

Here on the Thames near Greenwich is the permanently docked Cutty Sark, one of the last and best clipper ships made:

After Greenwich, I bounded over to the Natural History Museum to see dinosaurs, since I actually never bothered to do so because of long queues:

Here is the first T-Rex fossil ever discovered:

Large robot T-Rex to appease the kids:

Eggs:

Horns:

Skin:

Feet:

Partially excavated bones:

Water-dinosaur?

Last meal in London will be Chinese:

Time to leave:

Final thoughts:
This blog recorded some picture highlights of my year, but these images alone are impossible to describe what it has been like to live abroad for a whole year.  In short, London is a city that changes those who pass through it; its vast and globalized culture, its thousands of years of history, and its remarkable people truly make it a unique place in the world.  Having been the center of the world many times, London continues to draw the world's smartest and most determined people in to its magnetic pull.  While I continue on with my life back in the US, I will carry the deep impression London and its people have given me, and as time passes, their impact will only become more apparent.  I will end with a cheesy poem from the National Maritime Museum wall:

Thanks for reading this blog, especially if you have read all or almost every post.  There are many many more pictures that haven't been posted, so I will keep trying to add more adventures even as the main story comes to an end.