We woke to a blue sky day, shuttled through the bathroom; then went down for our cooked breakfast - this was a great way to start an day outdoors in a big city. The only fixed plans for the next two days was to meet up with Jim and Sarah for a meal out this evening and ride on the London Eye before we leave.

We took the Underground from Kings Cross St Pancras to Piccadilly Circus, arriving around 10 .30am to the start of the Original Tour (yellow) route from Whitcomb St. As the sun was out we sat outside on the top deck and listened to the tour commentary via head phones. We rode the tour bus past Trafalgar Square, New Zealand House on Pall Mall, St James Palace, The Ritz, Hyde Park and got off at Buckingham Palace, just as the Changing of the Guard ceremony was under way. The crowd was 10 deep at the gates, so we would have to return tomorrow for a family photo in front of the gates.

We walked across Green Park to the Ritz bus stop to hop on the the yellow tour bus again, at around midday; we would repeat the Hyde Park loop and pass the Palace again, but no matter. We decided to head for The Tower of London today and leave the London Eye for tomorrow. The route took us past Westminster Abby, Houses of Parliament, Parliament Square Garden and Winston Churchill's statue, across Westminster Bridge, along the south bank and past London Eye and Waterloo Station, then back across Waterloo Bridge, up Fleet St to St Paul's; then back across London Bridge past The Shard and City Hall; then across the Tower Bridge and we hopped off at the Tower of London around 1.45pm.

We spent about two and half hours at the Tower, which only just does it justice. We rented the audio commentary and split up; Susan and the girls together, me on my own. The Tower is a great experience and so much history . Unexpected standouts for me were original signatures of tower 'guests' carved in woodwork and the mystery of the missing princes in Wakefield Tower. 

By the time we finished our Tower tour we realised we hadn't eaten since breakfast and it was now 4.30pm; so had some hot chips in newspaper (English style) - not real news paper. Then hopped on the 'yellow' bus again, this time taking the return back to Piccadilli Circus, because we were aiming to meet Jim and Sarah at the Regent/Oxford St corner. The return journey crossed Southbank Bridge to pass by The Globe Theatre and Tate Modern returning to the north bank on Balckfriars Bridge, then along the north bank of the Thames to Westminster then up Whitehall to Trafalgar and on to Piccadilli Circus.

Leaving the tour bus for the day, we walked up Regent St to make our 5.30 rendezvous with Jim, and Sarah would arrive soon after. In a street like Regent Street, you really get a sense of a large global city by - all the marque brands have huge stores and must pay huge rents if not owned - real stuff of the 'Monopoly' board game! Browsing shops until our rendezvous, we split again to meet at Oxford St .

Jim and Sarah arrived on time and place and they suggested we show the girls the four levels of toys at Hamleys, back down Regent St; so we did. Hamleys is where, seven years earlier, their grandparents had bought the girls a CD each with songs featuring their names. We lost Megan's immediately, but Alice still has hers.  

Jim and Sarah suggested we eat at Taste of India on Drumond St; they knew the chain and it although it was a short tube ride from Oxford Circus to Warren St, then a couple of blocks up Hampstead Rd and it was in the right direction, not far from our Hotel. We had a great meal and catch up; then said our farewells around 8.45pm. The short walk down Euston Rd to Kings Cross took about 10 minutes and it was great to take in the buzz of night activity on the surface, on another balmy spring night, rather than underground. 

While Susan and the girls went straight off to sleep, knowing we had another long day tomorrow and our 1015pm departure flight, I stayed up for a while backing up photos to the PC in the dark, which would come back to bite me.