Books and Birds

Why is it so much more fun to grocery shop in a different country even when buying mundane items like milk and cereal?  I think it is because even if the items are familiar, many of the brands and 'flavors' (or being in England should I say flavours) are different.  We have a Waitrose, a Tesco, a Mark and Spencer in the area, so we'll be trying them all out.

This morning we headed over to the British Library, first passing the wonderful Victorian monstrosity the St. Pancras Hotel established in 1873.   

I particularly liked the juxtaposition of the roof line of St. Pancras Train Station (almost cathedral-like) against the smooth geometric lines of the British Library.  Both brick buildings, but two very different looks.  

 

The British Library courtyard has this wonderful statue of Sir Isaac Newton.  Love it! 

 

Inside, there is this great bench - perfect for a library.

We visited the British Library to look at it's treasures  The permanent exhibit of 200 items includes the Magna Carta, a Gutenberg Bible, Handel's 'Messiah', and a volume from 1590 detailing the importance of insects with the prettiest bee skep ever!

My mom is an avid murder mystery reader and so she was pleased to explore this small exhibit.

This evening we took a walk along the Thames River and did a bit of bird watching.

There were several Mallards who were at home in the river...

...and several Blackbirds merrily singing to each other in the trees along the embankment.

 

Now for some dinner, and then I'm hoping for a better night's sleep as I continue to adjust to life 8 time zones earlier than my body is used to.