I woke up to the smell of coffee in my room, there is Tricia sneaking in my room with a towel wrapped around her.."oh, fun, naked coffee". Ken had gotten up early to get some lattes and Americano's along with some blueberry, cranberry-Orange muffins at the Cafe Nero down the street.

We started out for the hop-on, hop -off bus that takes you around the city to see the major cites. Sounds like a great idea doesn't it? Well, if we would have found a covered double-Decker it would have been. We were whipping along the streets on the top of the double Decker --it was freezing mate. So we got off near St Paul Cathedral. We saw a wedding party on the steps of the cathedral, many of the women had on wonderful hats and fascinator. I know; what is a fascinator? It is a cute little head piece that is attached with either a comb or a head band. We decided to take a break to warm up and took time for tea at Strata. OK Menu: roasted potatoes; pizza Margaretta; an antipasto plate and wonderful olive oil with balsamic vinegar. YUM.
We took in the cathedral.Emme always catches the cutest phrases. There are 287 or so stairs to the whispering gallery is near the ceiling of the cathedral like a cat walk. A little boy says, " is that the queque to heaven Dad?" And the Dad answered yes. Then the boy said, "it moves along rather quickly, then, doesn't it?" ....if only!

We found a wonderful covered hop-on bus that was not only covered but had heat! The rest of the tour seem much better! On the tour, we found out the meaning behind some of the nursery rhymes. Ring- around the rosie...was about the great London fire from the 1600's. Did you know that? The best part was seeing where the muffin man came from..on Drury Lane. We drove by the most expensive real estate in London: Sean Connery, Margaret Thatcher, Joan Collins. We drove by the only place where the Beatles shared an apartment.

We had to go look for a perfume store that I saw in a magazine..so Tricia, Emme and I headed one way and Ken & Wanda went back to the apartment. I had to use the lady's room so I asked if we could stop in the Ritz...we were all giggling. We were trying to act nonchalant so we walked in and there were men who looked like goons guarding the doors and hallways. I headed to the elevator, trying to act like I belonged, but Tricia got stopped. They approached her and asked if they could help her. She fessed up and said we were looking for a restroom. Even though she was dressed really cute, he looked her over, head to toe and said " We have a dress code here! No, jeans." So we turned our sorry jean-butts around and left. Apparently, that is why they call it putting on the Ritz.
We found the perfumery near the Gucci and Dolce-Gabana stores. Ormonde Jayne. Now one of my two most favorite perfumes!

We took a cab to dinner to Orso. The waitress guessed we were from the states...but she did not want to tell us why until later. Menu: Mussels, Artichokes with lemon and arugula and mint. The main courses were mullet (doesn't sound good, all I could think of was the hair cut from the 70's or 80's ) ...after much discussion, it is a fish. We also had crispy pork with applesauce and dark brown gravy like Mom used to make. Tricia loved it so much that she ordered bread to sop up the gravy.Dessert: sorbet: orange and pineapple. Also plum tarts with vanilla cream. Wanda nipped the menu again...it is a thing with her. Sitting next to us was a cute little girl who was eating dinner with her napkin tied around her head. Her name was Millicent --sound like a Brit right? She was adorable. The waitress told after dinner that most Americans start with lettuce salad and then order meatballs with spaghetti instead of with Mashed potatoes and decaf coffee after dinner...but, no, we are not just ANY Americans!

We took a cab to the theatre. Phoenix theatre where we saw Blood Brothers. It was brilliant! Wanda's word was powerful. It was fun to see how people dress..everything from fancy -schmamcy evening dresses to jeans and sweaters. They also serve "bevies" and during intermission they serve ice cream in tiny little cartons.

When we got out of the theatre it was mad. People everywhere. We started walking and found ourselves near Chinatown...no empty cabs so we kept walking. We (Tricia and Emme) were distracted by more scarves on sale ...just as I was able to hail a cab...but oh, no, we can't pass up that bargain. So we ended up taking the tube home.

Now just sitting around chatting.