We had a late breakfast. I will gladly leave behind the dull knives when we head home! Our landlords must not cook much when they spend their summers here in the flat.

For the past five weekends or so, the Circle Line has been down for track replacement. Since this is the main subway line from our house, it has sometimes been a challenge getting places. We took two buses to get to our destination. We got off the last one outside 10 Downing Street opposite which were crowds protesting the state of emergency in Pakistan. Took some photos and then walked around the corner to the Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms, the underground headquarters of Churchill and his cabinet and generals during World War II. The 27 rooms were set up exactly as they had been from 1939 to 1945, and the Museum had touch-screen timelines, photos, artifacts, and lots to read. You could hear some of Churchill's speeches in various places throughout, making a nice addition to the audioguide. We've been doing our share of war-related visits with this and the Imperial War Museum, but it's Remembrance (or Veterans') Day and a fitting time. I grew up calling it Poppy Day because everyone went around wearing a poppy on their lapel, and it was nice to see that they do that here too. They've been selling them everywhere for a couple of weeks now. The British ones are made of construction paper, but I bought mine from Canada House yesterday and it was the velvet-coated plastic type of my youth.

On our way to the Waterloo Bridge, we walked through the Horse Guards Parade and just happened upon the 4 PM dismounting ceremony. I wonder where they will perform this ceremony during the London 2012 Olympics when the parade ground will possibly become the beach volleyball site.

Today was the Lord Mayor's Show and Fireworks Display to welcome David Lewis as the new Lord Mayor of the City of London. It began this morning with a three-mile long parade of 6,000 people, plus horses, marching bands, and floats. We opted to go to the fireworks at 5 PM instead of the parade. Near the Cabinet War Rooms, however, we did see some men in kilts who were probably coming back from the parade. The fireworks were being sent up from a barge between the Waterloo and Blackfriars bridges. What a mass of humanity for a short, fifteen-minute show. But it was nice nevertheless.

After this, we walked up to Soho where the crowds gradually thinned out. Gord gave Rick his British Rock walking tour. We then had dinner at a Spanish tapas restaurant called Meza which we thought was the same restaurant we had eaten in with the students when we were here in 1996. Same building, but it was called Mezzo back then. Food was okay, not great.

We walked along Oxford Street for a bit to see all the stores decorated for Christmas (you can say that here). Stopped in for dessert and coffee at an Italian restaurant near our house before heading home. Rick went off to hear some music. I wish I was up for going with him, but here I sit, nodding off periodically at the computer keyboard (just like my dad!). So if my blogs are getting boring, or aren't making much sense, bear in mind that I'm writing them at 1:30 in the morning.