Libraries and books and Neo-Gothic buildings - oh my!

Inside the Maughan Library - King's College

Hello there!
What a busy few weeks I have had. I was taken out by two of my old friends to some 'proper London places' and ended up having a very nice cocktail in a place called The Breakfast Club. It was a Friday night, and so, in typical London fashion everyone was out straight from work drinking outside. The weather had not reached its pinnacle of 29 degrees Celsius by this point, but it was certainly warm enough for the streets to take on a distinctly Mediterranean quality. How lovely it was. It was at this point, at the end of my first week, that I really began to feel as if I was starting to belong to the city, or that the city was starting to belong to me in some way.

The Hotel Russell - Bloomsbury

The next day I took myself to Bloomsbury, a wonderful area famed for its bookshops, garden squares, the British Museum, publishers, The Bloomsbury Group and much more besides. I had an enormous amount of fun trawling the book shops for a very pleasant couple of hours, in which I found plenty of things I wanted to buy but didn't need, including a whole bookshelf full of orange Penguin books which I just avoided entirely for the sake of my bank account. After this I met my friend and we went for a drink in what I can only describe as a sort of health food supermarket/cafe of which there are many in this city.

The Maughan Library 

Another fantastic day was spent exploring the Maughan library on Chancery Lane which was formerly the Public Record Office (a fact which explains its labyrinthine layout and heavy doors). In my humble opinion it is one of the most beautiful buildings in London. This whole area of the city is populated with the most wonderful Gothic 'fairy princess castle' architecture, including the Royal Courts of Justice. I sat in the round reading room of the Maughan which is based on that of the British library. I felt incredibly conspicuous, almost as if I shouldn't be in there, and could hardly believe everyone was sitting around as if it was the most normal thing in the world to be in a cylindrical room with its own fireplace. The Maughan Library reading room can be explored online here. But as impressive as it may be, I still need to go to the British library to see the original, because it looks like my idea of heaven.

Royal Courts of Justice or Sleeping Beauty's castle?

More very soon dear readers! I have a few more photographs and tales to tell about my first days at University. But generally I am having a wonderful time, London is such an exciting place to live, and I am lucky enough to live with some truly lovely people who are such fun!