This is London | Part Two

We contrasted our second day in London with the first by keeping our feet mostly up and seeing the city by way of a red double-decker bus. We saw lots of delights like the below garden accessible only to those living in the surrounding square - lovely!

After cruising around for much of the morning, our first main stop was Buckingham Palace for the Changing of the Guard. While I do agree that it's a spectacle every visitor to London has to see at least once, once is all I needed (and Hank would certainly agree). 

While the Royal Guards looked great, your packed in tight for an hour long ceremony.

We ducked out of the ceremony a tad early and happened upon A Taste of London - a street fair serving up delectable treats. This find was pure luck, and we were happy.

We met a pair of locals serving none other than... Carolina barbecue! And would you believe it, that line was the most packed, with locals! They imported North Carolina sauces, and we were excited to chat barbecue with them - one chef having visited N.C. for inspiration.

We made an unplanned turn from the street fair and landed in front of Laduree. I first tasted these macarons in Paris, and they are amazing. Rose petal is my favorite flavor.

I blissfully ate my macaron as we walked to a spot I saw on Pinterest - Neal's Yard. It's a turn off a main shopping street splashed with every color you could dream of. 

After that side trip, we hopped back on the bus and cruised by {St. Paul's Cathedral}

{Tower Bridge}

Love this photo capturing the new city up against the old. {Tower of London}

We spent the afternoon at the fascinating Churchill War Rooms. We walked through the underground headquarters of the British government's fight against the Nazis in the darkest days of the Battle for Britain. The war rooms were neat and the museum top notch.

Loved this quote (so true!):

We started making our way back to Soho, capturing one of my favorite shots on the way. 

We made a stop at Picadilly Circus, and it was packed. We quickly learned it was the Star Trek Into Darkness London premiere. Here's our celebrity sighting, Chris Pine (loved him in the chick flick, This Means War). 

Once back at Hazlitt's, it was tea time in our room before heading to dinner.

That night we dined at St. John - a much anticipated restaurant for us as it has frequented the world's 50 best restaurants list. Like Hazlitt's, it's unassuming but what a gem. I had one of the best things I ever ate - roast bone marrow. It's fatty, buttery goodness that you put on toasted bread and top with parsley salad.

It's hard to find something "typical" at St. John. We also dined on salted pig's liver, veal and braised rabbit - all adventurous to me but all great. The above menu is now framed in our kitchen, and it's one of my favorite souvenirs from the trip. I fell more in love with this city each day.

{This is London | Part One: Hazlitt's; Tower of London; Westminster Abbey}