Continued...

The following day David and I met Lisa and Tom at their hotel near Piccadilly Circus. Over snacks at a nearby Cafe Nero we decided I would continue to show David around while they get settled in.

I took David to Trafalgar square, the national portrait gallery to show him some of my favorite paintings and then finished it off with burrito’s from Chipotle. We paid in excess of £16 ($25) for the two of us!  

With our belly’s full we met up with Lauren at Covent Garden and had a wander around.

Next stop was Westminster Cathedral near Victoria Station. It’s massive building designed in an interesting blend of Byzentiuium and Victorian Architecture. The ceiling of the Cathedral was made of 3 large domes. Instead of ornately decorated as one would normally expect, the domes were left bare so when you look up it looks rather ominous.

We also lit a candle for Grandpa.

We toured the Cathedral flour then went to top of the adjacent bell tower. One thing we all noticed was the vast number of cranes in almost all directions. There were literally dozens of all shapes and sizes. Even in downtown LA during construction boom times you wouldn’t normally see more than 5 or 6 cranes.

That evening the three of us met Lisa and Tom for dinner at a pub. I had Bangers and Mash with a Guinness for the first time ever. Not too shabby.

Tom came back to our flat to help collect David’s luggage as he was staying with them for the remainder of the trip

Tuesday rolled around and I met the South Pas B’s for breakfast. I had a vegetarian English breakfast. The prior nights Bangers had just about filled my monthly quota of meat.

Our first destination was St. Paul’s Cathedral. In order to get the discounted family of four entry fee of £36, the children had to be under 17 – an age I could confidently pull off. Sure enough as we were paying for the tickets, the attendant asked how old I was, and without a beat I said “17!”. “Huh, ok” responded the clerk and before I knew I was 9 years younger and exploring one of London’s most iconic buildings.

Highlights were 250+ stair climb up the central dome, the altar and avoiding security staff while discreetly taking photographs.

As the weather was so nice we decided to walk towards the tower of London instead of taking the Tube. It probably took us about an hour however the travel time included a quick pit stop at Pret A Manger for some lunch.

We rounded off the day with a quick tour of the Tower of London ( highlights were the crown jewels which can only be viewed by standing a moving walkway, like what you see at the airport) and a river cruise back towards the west side of the city.

Finally, we shared a pleasant dinner overlooking the river.

Wednesday I worked during the day and met them for dinner that evening in Leicester square.  I think were the loudest table there.

I bought everybody after dinner drinks at a pub down the street and we all observed a hobo finish half empty pint glasses from people that had left.

All in all it was nice seeing family, making fun of the British and hearing Uncle Toms cockney accent.