The Wheaton Whistle

Awoke Friday to a sunny day.  Didn’t carry a jacket or an umbrella.  Didn’t worry if we might have forgotten something.  Didn’t have to look at the routes for the Underground.  We simply walked out the front door of the hotel and crossed the street to the British Museum!

You could easily spend a week here but as we only had the morning, we again relied on Rick Steves’ London to give us a splendid overview of this museum.  I must say it’s awe-inspiring to stand next to sculpture from a pharoah’s tomb or the stone carved panels from the Assyrian palace at Nimrud dating from 883-859 B.C.

Of course, we saw the Elgin Marbles.  I appreciated the opportunity to see them and I personally agree with the British Museum’s rationale for keeping them in the collection.  If you would like to read what the British Museum maintains concerning the Elgin Marbles, there is a page on their website that gives the background and current status. 

In the afternoon, we walked over to the British Library.  Finally!   What trip is complete without a visit to the library?!!!  This is Britain’s national library.  The main part of this library was originally at the British Museum but moved into its own building in 1998.

The public is not allowed to browse the library.  You must register to conduct research.  Their Treasures Collection, however, is open to the public.  Here we saw the Magna Carta, the Lindisfarne Gospels, Leonardo da Vinci’s notebooks, Shakespeare’s folios, Jane Austen’s handwritten manuscripts, and original scores from Handel to the Beatles.  The British Library has fourteen floors, nine above ground and 5 below ground.

Friday night, our last night in London, my brother took me to see Les Miserables at the Queen’s Theatre.  I had not seen it even though it has been playing for years.  I LOVED THIS SHOW!!!  The story, based on Victor Hugo’s book, was beautiful and the music was wonderful.  As soon as I returned to Wheaton, I checked out the library’s London cast recording.  Our tickets placed us in “the stalls” – 8 or 10 rows back from the orchestra.  It was a marvelous ending to a fantastic week!

Beth, Reader’s Services

“When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.”  Samuel Johnson

Posted in Events on September 11th, 2008
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