Pre-Tour Day 1

We decided to arrive 2 days before the tour started with our flight landing around noon. After checking into the hotel, we decided to get some coffee and pastries to give us some energy after our long flight. We went to Kayu Mayfair across the street and found ourselves surprisingly overwhelmed by some of the cultural differences, which we weren't expecting. A lot of cafes and restaurants were much more compact than we were used to in the US. It also took some time getting used to finding our way around, especially with all the different signs, directions, and squiggly lines on the road.

We ended up taking our order to go, and hid out in our hotel room for a bit to regroup before going on a short walk to our next destination - The Wallace Collection. We both really enjoyed walking through the rooms and seeing the different decor and art in the Wallace Collection. It felt almost like walking into one of the sets in Bridgerton! Also, finding out that a lot of museums in London were free was a bonus.

We were wiped out after our long day of travel and exploration. To wrap up the day, we went to Burger and Lobster, which was right around the corner from the hotel.

Pre-Tour Day 2

Our day started with a walk to Scarlet Green for breakfast. (Highly recommend by the way, the food was awesome.) It was a beautiful sunny morning as we wandered the almost empty streets. We couldn't help but admire the architecture and details of the churches and buildings we passed by. After breakfast, we explored an empty Carnaby Street and found our first red phone booth. Photo op! Next, we went to check out Liberty London before going to Buckingham Palace for our East Wing and State Rooms Tour.

Buckingham Palace was just a short walk away from the hotel. To get there, we walked through Green Park which was filled with people enjoying the day. We saw a lady in the park re-enact the bird lady scene from Home Alone 2 and one of us may have gotten pooped on by one of them birds (it was Shaundy). So if you happen to find yourself in that park and you see the bird lady... an umbrella might be handy! Arriving at the Palace Gates, we were let in for our tour of the East Wing. We got to see the room behind the famous balcony! Fun fact, the decor in the East Wing is much more Chinoiserie influenced than we expected. Afterwards we wandered through the State Rooms and made a stop by the outdoor cafe at the end of the tour.