Stratford-upon-Avon

    Part of the reason it has taken me so long to get my Edinburgh post up is because we have been going, going, going recently. Monday we had class as usual then loaded up on a bus for Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of William Shakespeare. We arrived around 2:00 in the afternoon and had until 7:15 to explore the town. While the town is interesting, Shakespeare's birthplace and tomb are pretty much the only things that are there. 5 hours to explore is almost too much. However, there were a lot of little shops and cafes in town so we were able to piddle before the show.
     Emma and I walked around for a bit and came upon a VERY old house compared to the buildings of the town. Obviously, this was Shakespeare's birthplace. Sure enough, we saw the museum attached. We decided not to pay to take a tour and just looked from the outside. Next we walked along another street that led us past the school that Shakespeare attended and its chapel. We then decided to go see Holy Trinity, the church that Shakespeare attended and the location of his burial. On the way, we passed Hall's Croft, his daughter, Susannah's, house. You have to pay to see Shakespeare's tomb so we did that and walked to the back part of the church.
    After seeing Holy Trinity, we walked through a park, past the theater where we were to see a show, then back up one of the main streets. We stopped in several vintage and thrift shops along the way. One place I got really excited about was a Peter Rabbit shop. Seeing all of the little Peter Rabbit things brought back so many childhood memories. I loved all things Beatrix Potter and Peter Rabbit. Everything in that shop was just so sweet. Anyway...we found a shop to get coffee and tea, and we read for about an hour.
    Emma had to eat dinner with her Shakespeare class before the play so I met up with some of the other girls to wonder around before the play. We walked to the theater, admired the swans, and grabbed a drink before the show. The play we saw was "A Comedy of Errors" and it was quite funny. It was set  in modern times, with characters wearing more modern clothes. Some of the humor and references were quite dark and violent but it had a powerful affect on the play. Altogether, it was really entertaining. The time we spent in the theater flew by! Before I knew it, we were back on the bus to head back to Oxford!

Shakespeare's birthplace

Shakespeare's tomb

Natalie, Kasey, Rosemary, Amanda, me and Brantley before the show