Country Mice visit London again - First day on a Short Break in Greenwich London

 It is not often that we venture to the Capital least of all stay there. We had been driven through Greenwich once before and remembering the appeal of the area, went and booked our first Coaching  away weekend there with a small local bus company: John Martin Coaches Ltd.  

Our Hotel Ibis was well placed and we enjoyed all our exploring and walks. The first place we visited on our arrival, was The Fan Museum which was just a bloc away.  We were each fascinated in turn by the different cabinets calling each other to view different details.  The Museum is housed over two floors in an early Georgian Building.  The set up and elegance of the Museum reminded me of the larger Tassenmuseum in Amsterdam. 

On the first floor the current special exhibition is called 'A Breeze from Heaven' featuring both English and Dutch fans from the 18th century onwards, such as these, all  with Bible themes.

 Opposite more contemporary fans with The Adam and Eve theme.

We went through the shop as one does, and looked at the merchandise, and there was just one fan which was a little smaller than the fan I usually carry, and would be a better fit for my smaller handbag.  I thought I was just getting shoppyitis and felt strong leaving it.  However in the night it must have been mulling through my head and the following day went back and purchased it.

After the fan Museum we headed to the 17th Century Queen's House.  It is certainly a bright gem on the Greenwich UNESCO World Heritage Site. Even before reaching the house along the Colonnaded Walks linking the House we were totally entranced by the beauty of the architecture . These  Neoclassical colonnades wings and buildings each side of the house were added in the early nineteenth century as part a Seaman's school. 

It is  easy to understand the impact of the Classical Building would have made. Just as the London skyline viewed across the river had on us. This building was completed only 32 years after the death of Elizabeth I.

Every room in the house is hung with the finest of paintings and other art . And this early painting from the Easter Islands by William Hodges who travelled with Captain Cook, really captured our gaze as it was hug above a door we walked through.

This is the not to be missed 'Tulip' stairway, looking down.  Going up and down these stairs when they were new would have been the most thrilling of experiences, similar perhaps to the feeling of using one of those external glass lifts with views to the outside. Something I am yet to do! 

The Architect Inigo Jones who designed the Queen's House had seen such stairs in the Convento della Caritá in Venice. Incorporating these in this ground breaking design of a Royal retreat and entertainment venue was a tour de force. 

The white stone stairs, with each tread resting on the one below were the first self-supporting spiral stairs in Britain and were made by Jones's  mason Nicholas Stone.  Without a central support this would have been the first time people had an unobstructed view up stairs through the centre of a building right up to a skylight. 

It was already getting dark as we made our way back to the hotel and the various shops made for interesting viewing.  After a little rest we ventured out again, walking towards the Cutty Sark and admiring the views across the Thames.  Where to eat the first night?  We walked around and eventually thought  why not taste the very English and traditional Pie and Mash at Goddard's, with a goodly serving of mushy peas, and  a very good apple and blackcurrant crumble and custard large enough to share to finish off.

On evening meanderings along the area we stepped into a specialist chocolate shop: Dark Sugars, a feast for the eyes only this time as none were purchased! I don't eat chocolate....

Luxury chocolates at luxury prices!!!!!