Day 5 — Our Great Britain and Ireland Adventure

This was our last full day in London, the first portion of our 20-day adventure in Great Britain and Ireland, a trip we’ve always hoped and dreamed we could make one day. We hope you enjoy coming along with us vicariously!

Joe and Connie were off to watch the Changing of the Guards and to tour Buckingham Palace, while Barb and I enjoyed visiting the British Library. We trained to St. Pancras station, which was a lovely building.

At the British Library we loved viewing Shakespeare’s First Folio (1623), a Gutenberg Bible from 1455, a copy of The Diamond Sutra in Chinese dating to 868 – the world’s oldest block-printed book – as well as handwritten lyrics by the Beatles and the score to Handel’s Messiah.

Also we viewed the Codex Sinaiticus and the Codex Alexandrius (two of the three earliest copies of the complete text of the Bible, Leonardo da Vinci’s notebooks, and a William Tyndale bible.

In the lobby we took pictures on the largest book at the British Library (this was for our reader daughter, Kate).

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After stopping at a theater carrying Barb’s family name …

The we were off to the British Museum. Favorite artifacts included the Rosetta Stone, the Parthenon Sculptures, the Crouching Venus, and the Bust of Rameses the Great. You can see these and more here.

However, our most magical hour there was a special exhibit featuring the last 10 years of Michangelo’s life. It was fascinating. We were surprised at how reformational or protestant his Christian beliefs became as he approached death.

Barb and I absorbed the shops and sights while walking the streets of the West End, visiting Piccadilly Circus, Reagent Street, Oxford Street, and Leicester Square.

We met up with Joe and Connie in the late afternoon for a pre-theater dinner at Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese. The original building burned in 1666 but was rebuilt in 1667. Dr. Samuel Johnson has his favorite seat here as did Charles Dickens.

After dinner, it was time for theater, and we loved seeing the musical Hamilton. It was Joe and Connie’s first time. We had seen it twice in Chicago in the past, but loved it this third time as much as our first time.

We got back to the hotel fairly late, so we’ll need to sleep quickly,. We’ll be up early to train to Kings Crossing Station to cathch a direct train to Edinburgh.

So, stage one of our four stage adventure ends. Our time (and amazingly, the weather) was just wonderful. Our time here was magical It is a wonderful city to visit and the history lessons were amazing.

We’ll catch up with you tomorrow in Scotland!