London Calling

Hello, mates.  Or is that more Australian?  My test is always, "Does it sound more like Monty Python, or Crocodile Dundee?"  But I digress.  Recently, we were in London.  And before I get more of those "Don't you ever work?!?" remarks out of you lot, I should explain that the trip was motivated by my participation in a conference called "The Global Dimensions of European Knowledge, 1450-1700," at Birkbeck College, University of London.  Not only did I speak at this conference, but I even helped to organize it!  Well, a bit, at least.  I helped my collaborator select the papers, but she did most of the dirty work.  Zoë, Santiago, and I did provide an invaluable service by helping to color-code the nametags on the evening before opening day. If you had not heard of this event, it is probably because of the royal wedding earlier this year, which seems to have monopolized all of the media attention that otherwise would most certainly have been devoted to the conference.  No, I am not bitter about this.  William and Kate did us a favor by diverting the peering paparazzi away from our august gathering of minds.

The most astonishing thing about London for the three of us is that everyone speaks English there.  We knew that they did, of course, but we nevertheless found it strange to be surrounded by people in perfect command of a language that we had become accustomed to hearing only inside our own apartment.  Another astonishing thing was how much things cost.  Accommodations are through the roof, and food is not cheap.  London, it seems, exists to make Spain look affordable.  I should say, though, that the prices were not as bank-breaking as we expected.  We found it easy to eat at affordable prices, if we stuck to ethnic restaurants like Thai places and Asian noodle shops.  This was fine, because this is precisely what we were craving, and British food being what it is  . . . Although we did discover the joys of "Modern British Cuisine," which is basically the British version of the local food movement that you find in other countries.  We had some very taste experiences there.  And now that we're back in Spain, prices in euros seem cheap!

Chapel in Greenwich

We stayed in an apartment on King's Cross Road, not far from King's Cross station, a major transportation hub.  I had two days at the conference while Zoë and the Kid spent time at the Tower of London and, sadly, in the apartment as Zoë tried to recover from a bad cold that hit her just after our arrival.  The three of us managed to see the British Library, the British Museum (the Kid's fave), the National Gallery (my fave), the Victoria & Albert Museum, Somerset House, Greenwich, the London Eye, Westminster Abbey (Zoë's fave), and St. Paul's Cathedral.  Highlights included Poet's Corner in the Abbey, Holbein's "The Ambassadors," a romanesque reliquary at the V&A, Christopher Wren's Chapel at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich, riding double-decker buses, eating Asian food, and taking in the over-all atmosphere of this very vibrant city.  We also got to see our friends from this blog post.  They gave us a little tour of their super-cool neighborhood, Notting Hill, but I could not get this fucking song out of my head the entire time we were with them.  Sadly, the market on Portobello Road was not in action when we saw them, so I was not able to verify if  I could have indeed bougth "anything and everything a chap can unload" in its market stalls.

One totally geeky experience which many of you will apprecieate, because you are either a map geek or an Ecuadorian, was standing on either side of the Greenwich Meridian, the imaginary line running through Greenwich, England, that defines the point of origin for measures of longitude around the world.  The experience bears comparison with Ecuador's "Mitad del Mundo" monument, where you can stand on either side of the equator.  0º longitude at Greenwich.  0º latitude at Mitad del Mundo.  Here are some pointless comparisons between the two places, that will allow you to procrastinate working for just a little bit longer:

• The equator is a natural phenomenon, while the prime meridian is entirely arbitrary.  This difference has no effect whatsoever on the geeky thrill involved in visiting them.
• The equator separates the world into northern and southern hemispheres.  Everyone knows this.  Technically, the prime meridian (along with its counterpart, the International Date Line) separates the world into eastern and western hemispheres, but nobody cares.  Who would ever say that the city of London, which lies west of Greenwich and its prime meridian, is in the western hemisphere?  Not I.  
• There are many, many more souvenirs available at Quito's "Mitad del Mundo" monument than at Greenwich's Royal Observatory, but many of the Quito souvenirs are actually Ecuadorian handicrafts that can also be purchased from pan flute bands in any of the world's major cities, while the Greenwich souvenirs are unique to Greenwich, and exclusively prime-meridian-themed.
• At "Mitad del Mundo," you are more likely to eat something that will make you sick.  At the Greenwich Observatory, you are more likely to pay through the nose for whatever you eat.
• At "Mitad del Mundo," when you take your picture with one foot in each hemisphere, you will be facing either east or west.  At the Royal Observatory, when you take your picture with one foot on either side of the prime meridian, you will be facing either north or south.  Another detail that is completely irrelevant to the experience.  
• At "Mitad del Mundo," you will most likely arrive by car or bus.  At the Royal Observatory, you will have walked up a hill in Greenwich Park.  Ironically, however, you are more likely to be out of breath at Mitad del Mundo, because you are 9200+ feet in elevation.  
• "Mitad del Mundo" is an elaborate tourist trap which includes an ethnographic museum and a recreation of Quito's colonial downtown.  It is actually called the "Ciudad Turística [Tourist City] Mitad del Mundo."  The Royal Observatory has the dignity that one would expect from a place once associated with the British crown.  

Please feel free to provide further comparisons in the comments section, or to remark on how stupid you believe this comparison to be.  

Ricardo with one foot on either side of the Prime Meridian