good time and enjoying lots of royal pageantry...in London. Thanks for joining us.

This time we'll see the "Old London" and....the "New London". Enjoy some of the city's traditional

pomp... hop a double decker bus ride to Christopher Wren's magnificent St. Paul's...shop for a

jaunty hat...checkout the vibrant scene in Soho...ponder some of England's greatest names

in Westminster Abbey, Discover treasures in the British Library and straddle the zero

meridian in Greenwich.

But first, we're checking out the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace-beautiful

weather, lots of royal pageantry, and a huge excited crowd.

The Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace is a fine introduction to London. While no

longer ruling a vast empire-London is still a capital of regal traditions. This time-honored

ritual still stirs English hearts. And, while you have to be very tall or very early to

actually see the guards change...I get a kick out of watching what seems like every tourist

in London gathered together in one place at the same time.

Today, England's royal family calls Buckingham Palace home. But for centuries they lived

closer to the River Thames...where, in the 11th century, King Edward the Confessor built

the first Palace of Westminster. Over the centuries, that palace evolved to become this

building and an icon of modern democracy.

Eventually, representatives of local communities or "commons" gathered here to be near their

king. They began meeting independently as the "House of Commons." And to this day, Britain

is ruled from here...in the Houses of Parliament.

Visitors are welcome to queue up for a free look at either the uppity House of Lords or

the rowdier House of Commons in action.

Like much of the most medieval-looking architecture in Europe, this is actually over-the-top faux

medieval. It's Neo-Gothic...built in the 1800s...the Romantic Age.

All across Europe Neo-Gothic was a reaction against the neo-Classical Age of Revolution,

which challenged royalty and religion. With this less-cerebral, more romantic style, Victorian

England reaffirmed its royal and Christian roots.

People call this famous tower, Big Ben. But Ben is actually the 13-ton bell behind the

clock. Here's a fun way to make your sister envious...

Rick: Hi Jan. It's Rick.

An enormous royal palace once stretched all the way from Big Ben to Trafalgar Square at

the end of this street. While the palace is long gone, its name survives; Whitehall-today

Britain's most important street. The British Empire-which at one point ruled nearly a quarter

of the world's population-was managed from here and a Whitehall walk is filled with reminders

of England's proud and hard-fought history. Stately reliefs and stern buildings seem to

celebrate "the empire upon which the sun never set."

As it has for centuries, the Royal horse guard still keeps the royal family safe. And if

you're here at the right time, you'll enjoy the ritual changing of this guard as well.

Prime ministers-like Winston Churchill-have long lived and worked on Whitehall. Here,

Churchill is wrapped in the iconic trench coat he wore as he led Britain through the

dark days of WWII.

Duck under sand bags and descend into the Churchill War Rooms. This was the secret underground

nerve-center of the British government's fight against the Nazis in the desperate Battle

for Britain. Shut down after victory in 1945, and ignored for decades, it's open today as

a fascinating time warp for visitors to explore. Audio guides give it meaning.

Audio Guide: On the morning of the 16th of August 1945, the day after VJ day and the

end of the war, the map officers tidied their desks, switched out their lights for the first

time in 6 years and went home. And that's the way the room stayed.

You'll see the room where Churchill famously took his short naps. In this room the progress

of the entire war was followed as the day by day movement of troops and convoys was

charted. And this room was the communication hub from where Churchill maneuvered Britain

to ultimate victory.

The adjacent museum introduces you to Churchill-the man. It brings the colorful statesman to life-complete

with his trademark cigar, bow tie, cognac-he loved his drink, and famous hat.

You'll get a taste of Winston's irascibility, wit, work ethic, even the industry of kitchy

knicknacks he inspired.

Back out on Whitehall there are monuments to other great English war heroes and at the

end of the street at Trafalgar square is a memorial to the greatest English war hero

of them all. The one-armed, one-eyed, and one-minded Admiral Horatio Nelson looking

out to sea.

The year was 1805. Napoleon with his mightly army was poised on the other side of the English

Channel, preparing to invade. Meanwhile, a thousand miles away off the coast of Spain,

Admiral Nelson defeated the French fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar. Because Britannia

ruled the waves and Napoleon was stopped.

Bronze battle reliefs-made of melted down French cannon-decorate the column. These huggable

lions are a hit with visitors.

Trafalgar Square marks the very center of London. Big Ben is just over there. Buckingham

Palace is about a ten-minute walk that way. Soho, where all the entertainment is, is that

way. That is the National Gallery with the best paintings in Britain. Right there is

St. Martin in the Fields-a church famous for great classic concerts and the charity work

that it does for this community.

Big as it is, London's easy to get around in. And, once you're oriented, riding its

double-decker buses can be both efficient and fun. For me, enjoying the view from the

top deck is one of the great treats of this city.

We're entering the historic core of London, the one-square-mile district locals call,

simply, "The City." While only a few thousand people actually live here, its 9 to 5 crowd

numbers half a million. This is Britain's Wall Street, thriving with big time commerce

and packed with banks.

"The City" is also packed with history. This monument commemorates the devastating fire

of 1666-which started here and burned down nearly all of London. These reliefs show in

heroic terms how city leaders came together determined to rebuild. The great architect

Christopher Wren was chosen to spear-head the project.

And the city that rose from the ashes of that fire was decorated by the Wren-designed spires

of some fifty churches. Christopher Wren spent four decades-the rest of his life-working

on his grand vision.

The centerpiece: this mighty cathedral, St. Paul's. Today, it's the symbol of London's

resilience: its rise from the Great Fire and of London's survival of the Blitz of WWII.

The church is one of the world's biggest. Wren accentuated its spaciousness by the lack

of decoration...notice the simple ceiling...and the clear glass lighting everything evenly.

Today, only the west end of the church keeps Wren's original vision. In the 1800s, Queen

Victoria called St. Paul's "dim, dingy, and ungodly" so the east end of the church was

then slathered with Victorian bling...beautiful Victorian bling.

While the church's survival in WWII was almost miraculous, the apse of the church did take

a direct hit and was destroyed. Today it's rebuilt as the American memorial chapel to

honor our nation's contribution to the defense of Britain. We see Jesus, Mary, and...George

Washington. The American iconography includes stars, stripes and eagles. And hiding behind

birds and plants native to the USA...it's a U.S. rocket circa 1958, shooting up to the

stars.

The British are grateful to their WWII allies. The Roll of Honor lists the 28,000 American

servicemen based in Britain who gave their lives.

Climbing the dome is like climbing a 30-story building...with no elevator. And the reward...

a commanding view of London.

Christopher Wren spent nearly half his life working on St. Paul's. At age 75, he got to

see his son crown his masterpiece with this golden cross.

London has thriving shopping districts. Oxford Street is lined with big department stores.

It's fun to feel the energy of this dynamic city. And Piccadilly, the city's most touristy

square, has a magnetic attraction all its own.

With its tipsy-yet-somehow-balanced statue of Eros in the center, this is where worlds

of temptations fan out in all directions.

While Piccadilly seems tacky, just a few steps away is a more elegant slice of London.

And to enjoy this, we're joined by my friend and fellow tour guide, Brit Lonsdale.

Brit: This is a lovely street to come down, if you want an alternative to all of the big

shopping centers. Rick: Jermyn Street, right?

Brit: It is, yes, Jermyn Street after Dr. Henry Jermyn who was the Earl of St. Albans.

And it's full of lots of little, very individual, quintessentially English shops. It's really

worth coming down here even if you haven't got the money to buy all those wonderful things

that you see. Rick: Just if you want to window shop it gives

you a little elegant slice of London culture. Brit: Yes, absolutely. And a lovely flavor,

yes...We're walking past Swaine Adeney & Brigg. This is where members of the Royal Family

buy their umbrellas, gloves and whips. Rick: Whips! Oh, for horses.

Brit: Yes, of course.

Bates Hats still sells bowlers and top hats as it has for a century.

Brit: This is Bates, one of the lovely old shops on Jermyn Street. And they sell wonderful

hats here. This is a lovely top hat that you can see here. That's the sort of thing that

you might wear if you were going to the races. Rick: Oh, going to the horse race.

Brit: It's going to set you back a bit. Rick: So what would this cost me?

Brit: About 330 pounds. Worth every penny though, it's beautifully made.

Rick: Oh, my goodness, just under $500. Nice, a top hat for the races.

Brit: Now, the hats that you can see hanging on the wall here, these are Panama hats and

they're the sort of thing that you might wear in summertime when you're watching cricket,

you know traditional British occupation, the crack of leather on willow, sitting on the

river at Village Green with your Panama hat... This is a bowler hat. Years ago this is what

you wore when you went to work. It was a standard item of hat wear. If you worked in financial

institution in the city in the oldest part of London you would wear a bowler hat. Nowadays...

Rick: If you were a banker you had to have a bowler.

Brit: Oh, definitely. Definitely. More Laurel & Hardy I think!

Rick: Laurel & Hardy! Brit: A little more Laurel & Hardy than banker.

Simply wandering around London as evening approaches and people come out to play is

an experience in itself. Soho is particularly lively. The people-watching is fascinating

and talk about variety....

Rick: This is thriving with restaurants. Brit: Yes, we're in Soho. It's full of excellent

restaurants. It's a big center for media, the arts. There's a big gay community here.

Always humming, always buzzing. One of the marvelous things about London is that it's

such a mix. We used to have an enormous empire spanning the globe and as a result lots of

different nationalities came here. This part of London is the part that we call Chinatown.

Rick: Dim Sum, this is the place. Brit: Definitely. And of course Soho's all

about theater. There are at least 30 theaters within a 10 minute walk from this spot, running

the whole gamut: musical, comedy, Shakespeare even.

We're staying on a delightful-and peaceful-street in South Kensington. Hotels in London are

expensive -choose carefully. In my London guidebook, I recommend the family-run Aster

House. It has a friendly staff. And my room provides a good home base. To stretch my budget-especially

important here in London, I stock it with a few groceries. The conservatory has a sunny

Victorian elegance. And a genteel breakfast here is a fine way to start your London day.

A short taxi ride away is Westminster Abbey. This most historic church in the English-speaking

world is where kings and queens have been crowned and buried since 1066. While it was

first built in the 11th century, much of what we see today is 14th century. When there's

a royal wedding, the world looks on as, amid all this splendor, thousands of Britain's

glitterati gather under these graceful Gothic arches.

The centerpiece is the tomb of Edward the Confessor, who founded the abbey. And, surrounding

Edward, are the tombs of 29 other kings and queens. This is the tomb of Queen Elizabeth

I. Her royal orb symbolizes she was queen of the entire globe.

The abbey is filled with the remains of people who put the Great in Britain-saints, musicians,

scientists, and soldiers. For lovers of English literature, strolling through Poets' Corner

can be a pilgrimage in itself.

King Henry VII's Lady Chapel, with its colorful windows and fanciful banners, has the festive

air of a medieval pageant. The elaborate ceiling is a fine example of fan vaulting-a style

that capped the Gothic age. At the far end, a wall of modern stained glass

marks the Royal Airforce Chapel. It honors the fighter pilots of all nations who died

defending Britain in 1944.

With saints in stained glass, heroes in carved stone, and the remains of England's greatest

citizens under the floor stones, Westminster Abbey is the national church and the religious

heart of England.

London's subway-fondly known as "the tube"-is one of this planet's great people-movers and

easy to master: To avoid slow-moving ticket queues, buy your tube pass from machines.

Then, simply swipe yourself in and out...until your prepaid account needs topping up.

Follow signs to the right platform. Visualize the layout of the city and remember: Lines

are labeled north, south, east, or west. Each train line has two directions and therefore

two platforms. Signs list the line, direction, and stops served by each platform.

Because some tracks are shared by several lines, signboards announce which train's next

and how many minutes till it arrives. Final destinations are displayed above the windshield.

And always...Mind the Gap...mind the gap.

Once on board, you can track your progress. Confused? Many of the locals...speak English.