We must have all been exhausted because we all managed to sleep better last night. Thank goodness! We got up at about 8:30 and left the hotel around 9:15 to set out and find a warm breakfast instead of what is offered at our hotel. We found a little bistro about halfway between our hotel and the Victoria Underground station, where Andy bought us all breakfast. :) Charlotte and I had full English breakfasts (toast, fried eggs, mushrooms, fried tomatoes, bacon and baked beans) with tea, and Andy had a French breakfast (baguette with fried eggs, swiss cheese, bacon and greens) and orange juice. Everything was delicious!

After breakfast we decided to go visit the famous Harrods store since it was raining out. This place is incredible! It's 7 floors of luxury items, from designer handbags (displayed sitting on shelves like artwork), to home furnishings and food items. Charlotte and I admired a purple pillow made of alpaca hair (so soft) until we saw the pricetag, £1500.00!! Andy and I both bought bottles of water for a £1 each and I got some Dandelion and Burdock as well, so we managed to spend only £s in the single digits! Since we have walked so much in the last few days we were running low on energy so we went to a little cafe to sit for a little bit. After Charlotte had a nice warm drink, we went to a few souvenir shops before heading back to the Underground. Andy and I decided we'd go tour St. Paul's Cathedral, but Charlotte had to return to the hotel to collect her bag as she had to catch a train home at Paddington station a little after 4 and she wanted to have plenty of time to make it there. It was sad to see my buddy go. After 5 years, it was like no time had passed, just picking up where we had left off. Andy and I really enjoyed spending time with her and seeing the sites together. We even both caught ourselves checking to see if she was keeping up later in the day after she had already gone. Charlotte, we miss our travel buddy!! Thank you so much for making a special trip to come see us and help to make the time that much more menorable!

On to St. Paul's Andy I went and found a huge queue (line) had formed and that police had blocked off the entrance and only those with tickets were being permitted to enter. Many of those going in were dressed very proper and so yet again, we've gone to a major landmark and missed out on what is going. We later learned that we couldn't get into St. Paul's because His Holiness The Dalai Lama was receiving the Templeton prize!

Despite our disappointment we continued on and decided that since it was still raining it probably wasn't the best day to do a double-decker bus tour. We caught the tube at Black Friars and got off at Tower Hill to go tour the Tower of London instead. Unfortunately the wind got the best of Andy's umbrella (sorry Mom) and it literally bent in two. But by the time our tour started with Steve, a Beefeater (Yeoman Warder) who lives at the Tower, the rain had stopped. We went inside the chapel that dates back to the year 1520 to learn about the history of the grounds and goings on inside the walls over the centuries. We learned about the beheadings of two of the queens and over a thousand mysterious deaths. The White Tower that sits in the center of the walls used to be the home of the kings and queens of England from 1090 onward for 500 years. The crown jewels also reside at the Tower of London and we both were amazed at the intricacy of some of the pieces on display, as well as a solid gold punch bowl that could hold probably 20 gallons of punch or easily bathe a small child in it! You cannot imagine the size of the Cullinan 1 diamond- The Star of Africa - that resides in the scepter. It was bigger than a golf ball! 530.2 carats!! Where's my prince charming? According to Steve, the Beefeater, this was sure to get a few husbands smacked as women would automatically compare the size of their stones to this one. Haha! We visited the Bloody Tower and learned about the history of it's name and also about some of the methods of torture that were used through the centuries on the prisoners held at the Tower. I had no idea that the tour would include so much interesting historical facts and information. Well worth the £20.90!

After the tour we decided to get something to eat, so we went to a little cafe called EATright outside of the ticket booth for the Tower. Andy had a cuban sandwich and I had a chickeb bahn mi sandwich and fruit salad as we people watched. We struggled to come up with a plan that would allow for our feet to rest and decided instead to catch the tube over to Westminster to tour the Abbey. Unfortunately we arrived too late and the Abbey and gift shop were closed for the evening. We did walk around and take some great photos of the Abbey, Big Ben and the House of Parliment.

A few failed attempts were made in trying to find a place to have dinner on our way back to the hotel, so we decided to take a trip to visit Sainsbury's (like Kroger) and bought some pork pies and we each got a Cadbury Twirl bar for desert. Since our feet felt like mangled messes in our shoes, we decided to call it a day and bring our goodies back to the hotel. The Wifi here has been a pain, and so I'm hoping to stay awake long enough to get this uploaded. Sweet dreams!

-Bree