Above you can see Jamie and Charlotte atop the London Eye, our first port of call upon arrival on Sunday afternoon. In the background you can see the Palace of Westminster where Vanessa and I met more than 18 years ago. Bloody hell. We went back for a tour the following morning.
But there was much to do and see before then.
At the head of the list was a date with an old friend - and a meeting with a very new one.
The new face belongs to Josephine who was born in December. Isn't she cute?
And being a female, she's also vicious. Obviously.
And do you recognise the big head in the foreground? That's her daddy.
Yup, Uncle John is back. And Auntie Rosie is a good match for him as you can see.
But fatherhood hasn't changed him that much. He still has many bad habits, some of which he's already set about passing on.
After hugs and lots of waves, it was off to Chinatown for us tourists.
Jamie wasn't a huge fan of the Oriental culinary offerings, in truth.
I knew we should've gone to the Joy Luck.
But at least there were other attractions on hand before bedtime.
After our early morning Parliamentary visit, we split up along gender lines. Vanessa took Charlotte off to (unsuccessfully) stalk Princess Namesake at Kensington Palace.
And I dragged Jamie to the Science Museum to stare at a piece of Moon rock (amongst other attractions).
We didn't have time for the Tower of London on this occasion, but thankfully the Crown Jewels were on display in Lego form at Hamley's.
There was time for a couple more novelty pictures in advance of dinner and bed.
And before our Tuesday afternoon departure, we watched the Changing of the Guard.
And stood outside Buck House. (The Royal Standard indicated that Her Majesty was in residence, but she stayed there. Jeremy Kyle was on).
Yes, all very touristy. But it has to be done.
And, by the end, so too were him and her.
