June 23, 2010 - The British Library and Harrod's

We decided that we should pick a sunny day to travel by boat to Hampton Court Palace. So we altered our itinerary to travel there earlier in the week as the forecast called for a brilliantly sunny day on June 22nd. We then had to alter our itinerary for June 23rd because I was incredibly sunburned.

So, what's a good place to visit in London where it's cool and dark? The British Library! A London double-decker bus went direct from in front of our hotel to the British Library entrance.

Photos are below.

Only at the British Library can one see such an extensive collection of ancient (2000+ years old) and medieval manuscripts, as well as significant historical documents.

We viewed the Magna Carta, Lindisfarne Gospel, Gospel fragments from around 150AD, and so much more. Plus, there was a special exhibition on maps from throughout history and another special exhibit on the South American Independence Movement.

Photography inside the British Library isn't permitted, but you can get a look at their extraordinary collection by clicking here. This will take you to the British Library's website page showing all of their collections that one can view.

After spending several hours at the British Library we took a double-decker bus direct to Harrod's where we did some shopping. Then we hopped on another bus which took us back to our hotel via Marble Arch (and the northeastern corner of Hyde Park). You'll see photos of us outside Harrod's, and at Marble  Arch, below.