Flight over was ok. Linda slept a little. I slept for about 5 mins during a Bruce Willis movie. Thank goodness for Ipods and for solitaire on my Ipod.
We took the Heathrow Connect train
from the airport to Paddington Station and from there took the Tube to Bayswater Station, near our hotel.
We dropped our bags at the hotel -- Hilton Hyde Park --
and headed on the Tube over to Big Ben
and the Houses of Parliament.
Then we went to Westminster Abbey. What a place.
All of English history is pretty much buried or commemorated there. From there we went to the Cabinet War Rooms and Churchill Museum.
Very interesting, and very sobering to imagine what the poor people of London/England went through during the war as they were attacked by Germany and were anticipating an invasion. We saw these bobbies on horseback near 10 Downing Street
on the way to Trafalgar Square where we had a nice lunch
in the Cafe in the Crypt at St. Martin-in-the-fields Church:
Right after lunch we took the Underground back to Notting Hill Station
and met Laura at her London Centre place. What a great place.
We met some of her fellow classmates and got to see the ground floor parts of the facility. We then went on the Tube to the Wallace Collection, which is a mansion
full of spectacular artwork, and it was free admission. We then walked along Oxford Street and New and Old Bond Streets, which have tons of stores and people on them -- especially Oxford Street. We then went through the Burlington Arcade where there were doormen:
It's arcade of very high end shops. We also went to Fortnum & Mason food store,
which is a department store of food.
From there we walked to Picadilly Circus
and saw quite a show there with Hare Krishnas chanting
and then cross dressed men showing up to strut their stuff.
We took the Tube back to our hotel,
fianlly got in to our room, and then went to dinner at Royal China near our hotel.
As you can see by their sign, they really appreciated our patronage. After dinner we walked Laura back to her place, which is about 2 or 3 blocks from the hotel, and then we crashed. Weather was cold but dry until evening, when it rained some. It rained overnight and is still rainy this morning. Something you would NEVER see in Italy:
I baked the cake and draped the fondant and MK decorated.
We took the Heathrow Connect train
from the airport to Paddington Station and from there took the Tube to Bayswater Station, near our hotel. 
We dropped our bags at the hotel -- Hilton Hyde Park --
and headed on the Tube over to Big Ben 
and the Houses of Parliament. 
Then we went to Westminster Abbey. What a place. 
All of English history is pretty much buried or commemorated there. From there we went to the Cabinet War Rooms and Churchill Museum. 
Very interesting, and very sobering to imagine what the poor people of London/England went through during the war as they were attacked by Germany and were anticipating an invasion. We saw these bobbies on horseback near 10 Downing Street 
on the way to Trafalgar Square where we had a nice lunch
in the Cafe in the Crypt at St. Martin-in-the-fields Church: 
Right after lunch we took the Underground back to Notting Hill Station 
and met Laura at her London Centre place. What a great place. 
We met some of her fellow classmates and got to see the ground floor parts of the facility. We then went on the Tube to the Wallace Collection, which is a mansion
full of spectacular artwork, and it was free admission. We then walked along Oxford Street and New and Old Bond Streets, which have tons of stores and people on them -- especially Oxford Street. We then went through the Burlington Arcade where there were doormen:
It's arcade of very high end shops. We also went to Fortnum & Mason food store, 
which is a department store of food.
From there we walked to Picadilly Circus
and saw quite a show there with Hare Krishnas chanting 
and then cross dressed men showing up to strut their stuff.
We took the Tube back to our hotel, 
fianlly got in to our room, and then went to dinner at Royal China near our hotel.
As you can see by their sign, they really appreciated our patronage. After dinner we walked Laura back to her place, which is about 2 or 3 blocks from the hotel, and then we crashed. Weather was cold but dry until evening, when it rained some. It rained overnight and is still rainy this morning. Something you would NEVER see in Italy: 
