The Palace

Today cousin J, her friend S and I had a day in London. We started with a very early fish and chip afternoon tea in bbar in Buckingham Palace Road. It was absolutely delicious. Would highly recommend and will definitely go again.
We then went to Buckingham Palace for two tours. The first was a very interesting guided tour of the East Wing which was conducted by a very knowledgeable young lady - Franchie. It included the famous Balcony Room. We weren't allowed on the balcony but you could look through the netted curtain. What was a surprise was that the view is largely of the Victoria Memorial. Those standing on the balcony cannot actually see down, or is it up, The Mall.
We then continued with a self-guided tour of the State Rooms.  Again, very interesting with some magnificent rooms. We learned quite a lot. After a drink in the outdoor cafe, we took a leisurely walk through the gardens to the exit.
These tours were a birthday gift (July) from J. A great day.