Day 4: Renaissance Man

I aspire to be a Renaissance man. Not literally...or figuratively for that manner. Frankly, I just like the way the term sounds. Say it out loud. No, really do it. Doesn't it just escape smoothly from your lips?

Anyway, today we had two stops which included visiting platform 9 3/4 from the world of Harry Potter, as well as visiting the British Library. I like Harry Potter as much as the next person, and visiting the platform was very fun, if not a bit awkward on my end. I might post the magical picture...but I wouldn't hold my breathe. Where the real magic happened was at the British Library. I was literally left speechless for 20 minutes today. Let me tell you why.

First and foremost, I was very excited to visit the British Library. It was really the highlight of my day. I always try to go to the main branch of the public library for every city I visit, but I'm usually the only one that wants to go, so it's nice to be with a group of librarians who share my interest. That's not even the exciting part though. You won't believe it, but I was actually able to get a library card and even check out books. Oh yeah!

My British Library Card!

So what books did I check out? I thought you'd never ask. 

1. The Sunday Times Illustrated History of Football by Chris Nawrat

2. Stadiums by Chris Oxlade

3. The World's 20 Best Players by John Reeves

In case you didn't know, I really like football (soccer).

Getting to sit in the reading rooms wasn't all that exciting, but nonetheless an interesting experience. The books were very interesting as well. 

                            The main entrance                             Entrance courtyard

So now we arrive to the good part. You know how I told you I was left speechless for 20 minutes? Well that's because I saw four of the most amazing pieces of paper I've ever seen in my life.

1. One original 15th century drawing from Michelangelo's notebook. Yes, I mean the Michelangelo. 

2. Three original 15th century drawings from Leonardo's notebook. Yes, again I mean the Leonardo.

I literally spent 20 minutes analyzing and admiring these documents. They are an amazing part of history. Located in the Sir John Ritblat Gallery: Treasures of the British Library, it's not often you get to see original work from the quintessential Renaissance men. 

Not only was I not expecting to see this magnitude of rare documents, but I saw other great manuscripts and books. This included everything from original letters written by John Lennon to a 9th century Qur'an sacred text. Unfortunately (or fortunately) you cannot take photographs of these amazing documents. But hey, that's more of a reason to stop by the British Library. 

You definitely won't see this at your local library.