London

Our son has been living in London for nearly three years. He works for an American company headquartered in Silicon Valley, so he does get home often on business. But we hadn't yet visited him in London until last week. What a glorious trip. I lived in England many years ago and so have wonderful friends that I hadn't seen in over 6 years. It was a great trip and we enjoyed great visits with our son and friends.

We stayed at a hotel in Westminster. The St. Ermins is a very nice boutique type hotel, and although a bit pricey it is within walking distance of Buckingham Palace, which was very convenient for my husband, Tom, who awaited anxiously the whole time we were there for an invitation to tea with the Queen.  She must have been otherwise engaged, however.......Here is a pic of our hotel.

 On the left, that's the hotel.....the picture on the right is New Scotland Yard which was right across from our hotel. While Tom was waiting for the Queen, I was hoping for a tour. No such luck. LOL.
We did a lot of the tourist things, many of which I had done years ago, but it was even more fun this time. London is still bustling and vibrant, and there are some new additions as well, such as the Eye, which I actually did get on and didn't pass out. (I am afraid of heights).

 That's Big Ben, of course, on the right.
We spent a whole afternoon in St. Paul's Cathedral. What a gorgeous and impressive place. During WWII, Churchill stationed artillery around it to protect it. The Germans wanted to destroy it because it is such a national symbol for England. But although one bomb did hit it, the damage was not total and the beautiful dome, designed by Christopher Wren, was saved. Probably one of the most touching parts of the trip so far, was finding my husband's uncle's name in the book in the cathedral that honors fallen U.S. soldiers from WWII. Tom's uncle, see below: Peterson, R. G. Pfc, was killed in the English Channel on Christmas Eve in 1944, right before the war ended. Incredibly moving!!