We slept well with cool breezes from the garden drifting in through the night – such a nice change from the 100+ degree heat of the Tucson summer.

Showered and dressed, we enjoyed a delicious breakfast in the hotel restaurant. We highly recommend the K&K King George Hotel. The room is small but comfortable and clean, and the bed was wonderful.

At 11:00 am, we ventured out of the hotel and caught the Tube to St. John’s Wood, where we joined a small mob of other Beatlemaniacs and snapped photos of ourselves crossing the infamous Abbey Road.

For us, one of the most desirable aspects of travel is the prospect of meeting interesting people. And that’s what happened at Abbey Road. I saw a couple who were trying to capture the “perfect” shot, one as similar to the Abbey Road album cover as possible. Naturally, I volunteered my services. And that’s how we met Daniel and Myriam, from Argentina. There was an immediate bond, and the four of us snapped countless photos of each other in the Abbey Road crosswalk, then slowly strolled around St. John’s Wood, getting acquainted and comparing travel and life notes. I introduced them to the wonderful Yiddish word “beshert” – google it – because meeting them certain was beshert.

We spent an unforgettable couple of hours with these two beautiful people. We learned quite a bit about life as a Jew in Argentina. As we sat in the Roma Café comparing notes, we felt as if we had known each other for years.

All too soon, we had to say adios to our new friends – they were on their way to Paris, and we leave for Edinburgh tomorrow. We said farewell and “Vaya con dios” at the Tube station, but we know that at some point we will certainly see these two wonderful human beings again.

Back on the terrific London Tube (truly a mass transportation marvel) we caught the Jubilee line to the Piccadilly line to Earl’s Court, where we perused the local dining options and selected Bencho’s for veggie lasagna and diet Coke.

After lunch we walked two blocks back to the hotel and packed for tomorrow’s four-hour train ride to Edinburgh.

We have tickets for Billy Elliot at 8:30 pm this evening, so at 7:45, we took the Piccadilly Line from Earl’s court, destination: Victoria Station. About a mile from Victoria Station, the Tube simply stopped on the tracks and an announcement was made: “Ladies and Gentlemen, a passenger at Victoria Station has fallen onto the tracks and has been run over. This train will not be moving in the foreseeable future. All passengers must disembark.” (We found out later than someone had jumped onto the tracks in an apparent suicide.) So we jumped off the Tube and walked out into the street. A well-dressed English gentleman saw our dilemma and took me by the arm and pointed us in the direction where we could catch a cab. We thanked him profusely and almost immediately flagged down a black cab. We explained our predicament to the driver, and he sped us through Friday evening London traffic to the Victoria Palace Theater. The timing was perfect – just as we were seated, the house lights dimmed and the show began.

And what a show it was. For the next two hours we were thoroughly entertained by a gifted cast, magical music and an incredibly touching, humorous and timely story. The packed house laughed and cried for two hours and we were sad when the final curtain fell.

The trains were running again after the show, so at 11:00 pm we ambled with the crowd to Victoria Station and caught the Tube back to Kensington and the hotel.

We freshened up and walked to Earl’s Court Road for a bite to eat at Nando’s, a hopping Portuguese restaurant. The veggie dinner, with a bottle of Portuguese Cara Viva Tinto Wine, hit the spot.

At 12:30 am we wandered back to the hotel and fell into bed. Today was quite a full, magic, memorable and adventure-filled day.

Next Day