After touring the cathedral in York, we walked through the streets of the town. York looks like Diagon Alley in Harry Potter. Medieval streets with buildings very close to each other. We had yet another meal of fish and chips and headed to the York Ghost Tour. The tour was a lot of fun. The guide reminded us of Gene Wilder from Willy Wonka. He told the stories in a playful yet dramatic fashion.

After the tour we stopped by for a pint at the birthplace of Guy Fawkes. We talked to a very animated but more inebriated York Gentleman. He was funny, but out of control. 

The next morning I woke up at 6:30 am, went for a drizzly run and did laundry. We got to the train station early and took an earlier train for London. The entire train had reserved seats so we had to stand for most of the 2 hour journey, but we got to London an hour early.

Derek used credit card points to book The Trafalgar Hotel facing Trafalgar Square. It was amazing. See video below:

We had lunch on the roof. I should say, we were halfway through lunch on the roof when it started pouring down rain. We had to relocate to the lobby. Thomas Trinh met up with us and we caught up and walked around the area. It sounded like he had a great time at Oxford. 

After a quick nap I met up with my good friend and former co-worker at Parliament Ian. It was great to catch up with him. Great guy.

Derek saw The Phantom of the Opera while I met with Ian. We met up at The Sports Cafe where a lot of exchange students hang out in Central London. I met a girl from OU and immediately asked her what time it was and she looked at her watch and told me. I couldn't help myself and went with the overplayed joke..."and OU still sucks." I have to tell you a 1 on 1 conversation is not the best place for the joke, but she gave me a downward hook 'em horns and a bit of yelling happened, but all in good fun. Don't worry, I didn't go Vince Young on her. Derek met another OU girl and I am not allowed to elaborate. 

Nam got into London early the next morning and I met him at the London School of Economics dorm we are staying at. We checked in and went to Leicester Square to get Les Miserables tickets for that night. This is Nam's first time outside of the US or Mexico so we took a bus and boat tour of the city. 

The building to the right of Big Ben is where I used to work. We enjoyed the tour and then met up with Derek for lunch. Derek and Nam had fish and chips and I had Indian food. On the way back to the hostel we stopped into a pub for a Pimms Cup and then took a nap before Les Miserables. On the way to the musical Derek and Nam decided they were hungry and they quickly stopped by McDonalds for dinner. They enjoying testing my patience everyday. They annoy me as much as they can to see if they can make me angry. It hasn't quite happened yet, but it won't be long before they break me. Les Miserables was great. Nick Jonas had the night off, but Derek fell in love with one of the actresses. As soon as the main (no pun intended) character came out Nam leans over and says "Look, Derek has a Jean Valjean haircut." We have referred to him as Jean Valjean or Goldi-locks since. The guys wanted to experience a night out in London so we went to a club called "The Zoo." Nam and I were hanging out while Derek took a trip to Brazil...her name was Camille, but with Derek's memory it could have been a Carl. They got very friendly right in front of us. I have been allowed to put up this picture for some reason. Nam and I thought it important to document the moment. It was a little uncomfortable after having to watch this for 30 minutes straight:

We tried to make it look like I was just posing for a random picture so we wouldn't stop the..."magic?" We had a caption contest today at lunch and Nam won with "Brazilian Steakhouse." Derek wanted "Brazilian Exchange." Any other caption entries are more than welcome. 

The next morning we journeyed out to the countryside to have lunch with a Tejas Alumnus named Angus. We were blown away by his estate.

Parts of the house were built in the 15th and 16th centuries. We walked a long way around the estate before having lunch with his wife and three children. The family was more then hospitable and we had the best time. One of the girls has a friend that is about to start SMU and so she came over and we told her about how the sorority system works in the States. After lunch we got a tour of the house. They have beautiful artwork, mostly of important ancestors. Angus then took us on a driving tour of the area. He lives near Andrew Lloyd Webber and the birthplace of Jane Austen. It was all incredible. We really can't thank the family enough.

We got back to London and walked around a bit and ate dinner. Nam went to the casino and I went in to see what it is like. I gambled no money and Nam walked away up 100 pounds. He won another 150 pounds today in 20 minutes while we waited for a restaurant to open. I should point out Nam hasn't spent more that 45 minutes in a casino this whole trip and did that well. After the casino we called it a night and rested up.

This morning we got Avenue Q tickets for tonight and had lunch. Nam treated us with his winnings. Derek tried to order the nicest bottle of wine at Pizza Hut, but Nam and I said no. By the way there are 3 wine options at Pizza Hut, white, red, and rose. We walked around a bit more and I rested up while Nam and Derek saw Buckingham Palace. Now I need to go and wake those guys up. We have Ice Bar reservations, Avenue Q, and are meeting up with friends from UT tonight. 

Thanks for reading and let me know your caption entries! Paris tomorrow!