Once we washed up, it was time for lunch.  My cousin accompanied us to a local pub where we had fish and chips with mashed peas (the traditional English preparation).  I also got to taste Guinness, which supposedly gets better-tasting the closer you are to Ireland.  Well, when in England, have some Guiness!  And it WAS better!

After lunch, cousin went home to finish working while Jes and I hopped on the Tube, got off at Westminster and ta da!  We were greeted by Big Ben as soon as we emerged street level.

To the left was the River Thames and a gorgeous view of the river and the London Eye.  I guess we lucked out on weather that day because the sun was out with blue skies and comfortable temps outside.

We made frequent stops at different pubs along the way to enjoy a beer and take toilet breaks.  Buying a beer is a small price you have to pay to use their loo.

We walked past the House of Parliament and Westminster Abbey and noticed all the closed circuit television cameras everywhere on the streets.  The security around Parliament was ridiculous.

We strolled through a really big park and ended up at the front of Buckingham Palace.  The queen wasn’t home and there was a little construction out front so we didn’t stay very long.

She’s gone only 2 months out of the year and that’s when they open the palace for tours.  We thought about going inside but they had JUST run out of tickets for the day.  So, we just went to another pub for another potty break.

Jes was starting to fade that afternoon so after a little walk through the shopping area, we took the Tube back to John’s flat so that he could take a nap.

In the meantime, I caught up on emails, hung out with my cousin, and played with his guinea pigs.  They were so cute and funny!

Dinner was at an Indian place called Imli.  It wasn’t the most traditional restaurant, which made for some interesting dishes and a huge dinner bill.  It was ok but I think we would have been better off at a whole-in-the-wall.  It was recommended by John’s wife’s co-workers who were all Indian but when we arrived, everyone was white.  Hm.

After dinner, we stopped for frozen yogurt at Snog where it was very Pinkberry-esque but with lots of rainbow lights inside.

We also walked through Picadilly Circus, which is like a miniature Times Square with flashy lights and engergy.   The next stop was at a local bar/pub where the bartenders were extra lively and friendly, which made it really loud and maybe a little too loud for 2 weary travelers on less than 3 hours of sleep.  After one drink, we were back on the Tube and we all went straight to bed.  That felt like the longest day ever.

Here are the photos.