A vist to Buckingham Palace & a very special dinner

Thursday 22^nd August

Today’s pedometer reading was an impressive 13.01 kilometres.

Earlier in the week we were able to purchase tickets to a tour of the State Rooms at Buckingham Palace for 9.45am today. The organisation and smooth running of the tour as we had expected was an exercise in precision. The State Rooms are used extensively to receive and entertain guests on State, ceremonial and official occasions and are furnished with treasures from the Royal Collection. We’ve been to heaps of palaces but were REALLY impressed with Buckingham Palace and the special Coronation exhibition. I think it might have something to do with the fact that it is a ‘working’ palace and also a feeling of connection with the history and it’s so regal and truly stunning without being ostentatious. The tour ended in the gardens where a Palace Café was open…we had a spot of morning tea…Andrew opted for the Windsor ice cream made from the milk of Jersey cows that graze on the grass at Windsor Castle. I went for the strawberry cake! The view over the gardens was stunning even though there was a light sprinkle of rain. Again we think it’s a ‘must do’ in London…a really worthwhile experience.

We did some shopping at Boots and Marks & Spencer at Paddington Station…we found Paddington Bear on the way home and spent the rest of the afternoon getting sorted and packed up ready to pick up our hire car and leave London tomorrow morning.

Our last night in London was REALLY special…we had dinner with Peta’s boyfriend Michael and his parents, Barry and Agneta. We met at ‘Yauatcha’ a sensational restaurant in Soho. I could rave on for hours about the restaurant but will restrain myself!!! The important thing is that we really enjoyed meeting Barry and Agneta, we have heard so much about them from Peta and Michael…& had a fun filled evening drinking champagne and sharing a stunning array of dishes.

We’re very happy that Michael back will be back in Melbourne when we return and if Barry gets his way, he and Agneta will visit Australia in the coming months…we look forward to returning the favour and spending more time with them when next they visit Melbourne.