England

....said Samuel Johnson, he is tired of life. That may be true but touring this great city can nonetheless be very tiring, especially with kids!

Yesterday we walked from our hotel across Green Park to Buck Palace to see the changing of the guard which despite the crowds was a great spectacle. No sighting of any royals though.

Afterwards we took in an open top bus tour which though touristy is the best way to take in the sights we have found. As we approached Knightsbridge the girls were keen to alight at Harrods (who could have guessed?) ? Olivia was impressed by the ornate Egyptian staircase complete with tacky shrine to Diana & Dody erected by the latter's father who owns this monument to retail Mammon.

It even has it's own Disney themed restaurant complete with pizzas in the shape of Mickey Mouse! ?

After stocking up on the ubiquitous carry bags and other knick knacks it was back onto the bus to continue our circuit of the city before returning to the hotel for takeaway pizza and an early night (did I mention how tiring travelling with kids can be?).

Today dawned with the start of that very typical London event, a (partial) Tube strike, ? which luckily didn't really impact our planned trip to Salisbury to catch up with Bronnie's second cousin Anne. A spritely octogenarian, Anne happily showed us the sights of her hometown, including the magnificent 14th century cathedral which has one of the best preserved originals of Magna Carta amongst its prized possessions.

It was great to see Anne after so many years and B found it hard to say goodbye when it was time to hop on the train to zoom through the picturesque Wiltshire countryside back to London. ?

Before we headed back to the hotel, we decided, given that the showery weather had made way for the sun, to take in a rotation of the London Eye. The views from the top of the wheel were amazing. I got all nostalgic gazing down at County Hall where I worked for 3 years back in the late 80s:

Highly recommend it for all visitors to this grand city. Our last day here tomorrow has been (unilaterally) set aside for a trip to the shopping strips of Regent and Oxford streets (Oh joy...). ?