London - Harrods; Buckingham Palace

Thursday, 12th September

We had booked a tour of Buckingham Palace for today.  Our first stop though was Harrods, the iconic English department store.  We ended up in the food hall to start with...had heard how amazing this is....well, we need to return to Harrods again, because we didn't really leave the food hall in the time we were there - so much to take in with the senses!

 We popped over to Piccadilly Circus for a couple of daytime photos...

 ...and then on to Buckingham Palace...

 We were in awe as we toured the State rooms of the palace, the tour also including a special exhibition to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Her Majesty's coronation in 1953.  We were not allowed to take photos, but this mobility access guide gives you an idea of the rooms/areas we visited.
Afterwards we took a stroll in the palace gardens...

 The palace gardens are slightly larger than our backyard in Orange...

 Then of course there was the Royal gift shop...

 More exploring of the palace gardens...

 The palace attendants were stationed everywhere...

 I wonder how that recent intruder managed to get over the palace walls unscathed?

 The Wellington Arch in nearby Hyde Park...