*Reviews of all three plays will be in a separate post*
This weekend we took a trip to Stratford-Upon-Avon. After getting up early on Friday, we took a train ride. It was really pretty and we saw lots of sheep, cows, and cute little towns. Once we arrived we went to our Bed & Breakfast. Meredith and I were assigned a room together and our room was adorable. It had light pink walls, a twin and full bed, a large window and our own bathroom. We even had lots of teas, biscuits and chocolates so we had a quick snack before heading off. We went to the market and I got a really good Indian dish for lunch!
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| Yum! |
There were also owls at the market! We were able to pet them as long as we only pet their tummies. They are way softer than you would expect.
After our adventures at the market we wandered over to the church where Shakespeare is buried. Our professor gave us a 30 minute talk about Shakespeare so we got a lot of background knowledge about him. We also went into the church where he is buried.
We then took a walking tour through the town. It was really informative and we were able to see all of the sites briefly. We were given passes that let us into all of the Shakespeare sites in the town and we were allowed to do what we wanted. Meredith, Sara and I decided to sit down at a little cafe and I got a refreshing strawberry milkshake. Happy and revitalized, we set off to Shakespeare's birthplace.
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| Garden behind his house. This is where Shakespeare's dad would have done much of his leather making (he was a glovesmith). |
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| A rose in his garden. |
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| Once inside, we saw the room where he was born. |
Throughout the rest of the weekend we also went to his final house, and his daughters house. They are both nice and look like old houses. Below are pictures from visiting the Nash house (Shakespeare's final house).
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| Not a good picture, but proof I was here and bundled up in the rain! |
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| Picturesque walkway |
After touring houses, we went and got dinner! Lots of restaurants have a theatre menu so we found a place with a good menu and I got a delicious appetizer and yummy pasta dish.
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| Amazing appetizer with prosciutto, salami, mozzarella, pesto, flat bread, etc. |
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| Chicken pasta dish |
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| All's Well That Ends Well- Pretty good seats- Row K. |
The first play that we saw was All’s Well that Ends Well. It
was hard for me to understand with the combination of Shakespearean language
and British accents. Regardless, the acting was phenomenal, the set was
exciting, and the play had some good comedy in it. Afterwards, we went to the
Dirty Duck. It is a large pub and is known for being a place to spot the
actors. We saw the entire cast come in within 5-10 minutes of getting our
drinks. They got changed incredibly fast! I also ran into Bertram as I was
walking towards the bathroom so that was exciting.
The next day we got up and had a full English breakfast! The breakfast consisted of a poached egg, fried tomato, baked beans, sausage, ham, toast and jam, and tea. It was very filling and a good start to the day. From there, we went to the birthsite again because some people in our group had not been the previous day. I debated going off on my own, but I actually got a lot out of it the second time and it was nice to be with others. After his birthplace, we went to Holl's Croft. It was another house, nothing too special. These old houses are cool once, maybe twice, but beyond that, nah. I mean, in 60 years, when I am famous, people will come to my old houses but that would not be horrible interesting. That being said, it was cool to visit
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| Garden, with Joe and Thomas. |
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| Garden |
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| Kitchen |
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| Wonderful market- I got fudge and punch. |
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| Spectacular seat for Titus Andronicus- Row E |
After Titus, Sara and I went and grab dinner. I got gnocchi with pesto, mozzarella, and tomatoes. It was delicious! Sara and I went and sat by the river before our next play. We did not have much time between the two plays as Titus ended at 4 and Hamlet began at 7.
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| Avon with lots of swan |
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| Avon |
The last play we saw was Hamlet. Afterwards we went to the Dirty Duck. It was great and we stayed until the place closed. We were sitting outside when the King from both Hamlet and All's Well came out and we talked to him and Hamlet joined him so we got to talk to him as well. I had a wonderful time and it was a great end to the weekend. On Sunday we got up early and took the train home. It was a lazy day once we got home and I did lots of homework.
When I have the time I will try to post my reviews of the three Shakespeare plays, and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. I leave for Bruges and Ghent on Friday morning so I will try to get these posted before then.
