March 25, 2008

Emma and I rose around 10-ish and headed out about 11:30. We went first to Kings Cross Station, so I could take a picture of Platform 9 3/4 (of Harry Potter fame). We then went into the library and got a bite to eat before going through the exhibition room where centuries-old documents and books were kept in a light- and temperature-controlled environment. Meaning, no pictures.

I wish I could remember everything I saw, but some of the highlights were:

The Magna Carta
The oldest New Testament (4th century)
One of the original Gutenberg Bibles
A Wycliffe Bible
Ancient scrolls from Japan
An ancient Koran
Original scores from Mozart, Beethoven, and Handel
The original, handwritten ms of Jane Eyre
The very first First Folio (collection of Shakespeare's works)
Old maps
The Lindisfarne Gospels
Beowulf

Click on the link HERE to see images of these treasures, and to read detailed descriptions of them.

After the library we walked about and did a lot of shopping, stopping in at two tea shops (one of which was Twinings), bookstores, a toy store, etc. We walked home, following the Thames, and I was able to get pictures of some of London's best landmarks. After we dropped our bags off at the hotel, we went to dinner at an Italian restaurant just a few steps from the hotel.

I clocked 7.25 miles of walking today.





"Best do it at a bit of a run if you're nervous." Molly Weasley




Me, being a dork.




The only picture I could take of the British Library.





Royal Courts of Justice. Britain's version of the Supreme Court.





Twinings tea shop. They've been at this location since the early 1700's.





London skyline





Zoom-in of the skyline, with Very Cool Red Bus




Cleopatra's Needle




Plaque beneath Cleopatra's Needle




The Eye




Big Ben




Big Ben




Memorial to Boudicca, Queen of the Iceni





Houses of Parliament





Westminster Cathedral




Westminster Cathedral Doors




Westminster Cathedral




Westminster Cathedral




Fun red telephone booths!!