She's Got A Ticket To Ride

Yes, I am referencing the Beetles. Today I visited what I have decided is my FAVORITE place here in London. Big deal, right? I mean, I've been here for two months, and I am just now declaring my favorite. Well ladies and gentlemen, I have a favorite. (Besides the food aka DESSERTS of course).

The British Library

Yeah, sounds weird. Diana likes the Library best of all? Weird. But seriously. I mean, back in the day Stef, Jazz and I did have a wild time in the good ol' Idaho Falls Public Library losing our library cards in the sand and getting in trouble with the librarians. But I have to say that if you are ever in London, stop by the British Library. It was SOO interesting and only took about 30 min. (it's small, but SO worth it!) And, I didn't even get in trouble this time :)

Why it was so cool:

The exhibit there is incredible. They have the original manuscripts of Jane Austin's Persuasion, Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, and almost all excerpts from the writers we have studied here: Wordsworth, Thomson, Shakespeare, etc.

The original copy of Handel's Messiah. His handwriting is priceless. Even worse is Mozart's though. Seriously unreadable.

They have a little section dedicated to the Beetles. Yes. The Beetles. Original manuscripts and rough drafts. And by rough drafts, I mean some were written on envelopes, random sheets of paper and scratch paper. Then the best part is that you can listen to headphones and hear them singing the lyrics that are right in front of you. They did a really good job of piecing the exhibition together. It even sparked my devotion and I felt like a long time Beetle fan.

Leonardo DaVinci's notebooks. Some of his doodlings.

They had a whole wall full of sacred texts from ALL sorts of different religions. Sikh, Judaism, Christianity, Muslim, etc.

Inside there is also a copy of the Magna Carta. Pretty inspiring.

Last, but not least, I must mention they have the earliest printed star chart. I would have taken a picture just so we could use it for star gazing, but no photography allowed, dang it! It was fun to remember back to our star gazing days with the printed off star maps we tried to use but failed to ever find anything with. What am I talking about. We STILL do that every summer, haha!

Well, I hope this wasn't too boring of a tutorial, but I was really so glad that I went to the British Library. Maybe it was the fact that I am DONE with finals. Or that I am going to Phantom of the Opera tonight with Westy, Becca, and Koko. Whatever it is, I am in the greatest mood and THOROUGHLY enjoyed it! I would recommend it as a must see. That's how much I loved it :)

xoxo

p.s. Can't believe I leave on Monday. I'm excited to get back, but I really think I might be leaving my heart here...