Not your usual tourist spot

Fortunately there is plenty of indoor things to do in London, perfect for those ever present rainy days.  I spent one rainy afternoon in the British Library.  I had never been before but had read about some of the interesting things to see there so I put it on my list of places to go in case of fowl weather.

The library is housed in a modern building with a large piazza in front of it and a bronze sculpture of Isaac Newton perched above.  The sculpture shows Newton crouching over some mathematical calculations.

The inside of the library is open to a six story atrium with a center bookcase that stretches that whole distance.

The huge bookcase is sealed behind glass and it contains the King George III collection of books that was originally housed at the British Museum.  That floor to roof bookcase is quite a site to see and I found myself standing in front of it and admiring all those beautifully bound manuscripts.

In another section of the library I found sculptures and artifacts like this ancient printing press on display.  In another room dedicate to the "Treasures of the British Library", I spent time  being awed by a Gutenberg Bible, pages from the original version of "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland", sections of the Magna Carta, Leonardo da Vinci's notebook, and the First Folio of Shakespeare's plays published seven years after his death.  And, that's just a few of the precious documents on display here.

On the lower level, I found myself struck by this wonderful 3D painting.  I stared at it for a long time and wondered how it was painted with so much depth.

Then I stepped to the side of it a saw that the depth was actually built right into the canvas.  A very interesting technique.

If you are ever at the library at lunch time, I can highly recommend the King's Library restaurant for a delicious lunch.  I ordered a very tasty chicken pie that was the perfect thing to warm me up and take the edge off of the cold and wet day outside.