There was no rain today. It took us an hour and half to get into the Tower of London today because there was some problem with the tube. We heard later on in the day that thousands of people were stuck in the tubes in the morning. We were lucky to be on another line.
The admission to the magnificent Tower of London was 14.5 pounds (AU $36) each, so we decided not to go as we had seen plenty of old buildings and castles on this trip. We wandered around the outside of the Tower, read the history of the building and imagined what it must have been like when prisoners were brought in through the `Traitors Gate' in a boat via the river. Once you went in, it was almost certain that you wouldn't come out gain, well, not alive anyway. If you were lucky enough to be beheaded, then as a demonstration of what happened to traitors, your head may have been stuck on display at the end of a big spike in the fence!
We then walked up onto Tower Bridge where we watched the big gun salute. This was a military display firing off big 2 pounder guns and the 5 guns must have fired off 100 shots - and this happens everyday! Must cost a fortune to do that 365 times a year - but , it keeps the tourists entertained! This is just one of the many ceremonies that occur regularly in London, these ceremonies must act as reminders to the younger generations of the history that lays behind what is modern London. 
After the bridge walk, we took a train to St Paul's cathedral, the biggest church in the world after St Peters in the Vatican. It is currently under restoration work, but we enjoyed having a wander around and sat in a nice square just behind enjoying a few minutes of sun and relaxing.
We then hopped onto a classic red double decker bus - one of the great symbols of London. We had a relaxing and thoroughly enjoyable bus trip through some of London's most famous shopping areas and streets - including Piccadilly Circus. I felt like I was back in Shanghai because there were people everywhere and the streets were packed. 
The difference is London is more diverse in terms of the races of people, in Shanghai obviously the predominant look is asian faces and black hair - every now and then you can see a white face and blond hair standing out in the crowd. London is the ultimate multi cultural city - a true melting pot! London is often described as `The coolest and hottest city in the world' I guess most people would agree and so do I!
We got off the bus and had a walk through China town, 
Trafalgar square and all the other streets (small and large) around Piccadilly Circus. I was most impressed with the architecture, the mixed races of people, the modernisation and the clean and green environment. While I was in the crowds with the other hundreds and thousands of people I didn't feel agitated as I normally would in a big crowd, but I felt relaxed and was enjoying the stroll and the slow passing of time.
This is the first time in our holiday that we took our time and walked as a normal resident in a big city centre - only London gave us the feeling of being at home because it is more like Sydney than anywhere else in Europe: the greenness, the buildings, the language, the food and the fashion. The only thing that is foreign is the grey sky and regular rain.
We had dinner in an old pub - it was very warm and cosy but people were smoking inside which was strange for England, for unlike the rest of Europe they had banned smoking in most public places.
I am constantly impressed by London's public transportation system. The result is that you do not see too many cars in the city of London - mainly you see the red double deckers and the black `fat bummed' taxis driving the streets - so different to the phenomenal traffic chaos in the other city centres we experienced across Europe.
London is an absolutely wonderful modern city - thriving, frantic but ordered - we love it!!
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