Our major excursion this week in the program was an overnight trip to Stratford-upon-Avon, and Warwick Castle! Of course, Stratford is most famous for being Shakespeare’s birthplace, so as a newly minted Shakespeare nerd, I was super excited to go. We took the train on Thursday morning to Stratford, which took a few hours. Once we arrived, we went straight to our B&B and left our things there. Stratford is such a cute little town! So picturesque and quintessentially English. I know it’s for the benefit of the hordes of tourists who constantly invade the town, but it’s always nice to see other parts of England other than London, although, London is pretty much the best place I have ever been :)
Our B&B in Stratford was so nice! It was so cute (I feel like I use the word “cute” too much in my blogs, but there’s no other way to describe what I am seeing haha). Our rooms were very nice, and after staying in hostels during fall break, I felt like I was in the lap of luxury! Also, BEST ENGLISH BREAKFAST EVER. Our first stop in Stratford was to the church where Shakespeare was buried. What a beautiful church, and what a quaint little graveyard! This is so redundant of me to say, but I felt like I was in New England by the way everything looked in Stratford. Which makes no sense, since I am in the real England, but it just reminded me of the East Coast for whatever reason. Unfortunately, we could not stay long in the church because a funeral was about to take place. We next walked along the River Avon and took in the lovely fall foliage and scenery. It was a beautiful day!!! It was absolutely bone-chilling cold, but the sky was blue and the sun was setting and it made for a wonderful sight. There were little boats in the water that all had the names of Shakespearean heroines on them, like Juliet, Beatrice, Cordelia, Ophelia, etc.
We next stopped at Shakespeare’s birthplace, which was really cool and well-preserved. They had a little Shakespeare “Hall of Fame,” which had photos of some renowned actors who had acted Shakespeare roles at some point in their careers. I was happy to see that my beloved David Tennant was one of them, and obviously had to take a picture. We next stopped by Holl’s Croft, which was the home of Shakespeare’s favorite daughter Susannah, which was really cool too. The tour guide was probably the best tour guide ever. He was so funny and theatrical and made so many jokes. I was surprised by how big her house was! But I guess her husband was a prosperous doctor, so it makes sense. We were turned loose for dinner, which my friends and I enjoyed at a little pub. Next was our play, The Merry Wives of Windsor! I must say, I was a bit underwhelmed. I didn’t find it as funny as everyone else seemed to. I thought it was too campy and gimmicky and more than a bit ridiculous. I don’t know, I think I just like Shakespeare’s serious plays better than his comedies, although Twelfth Night was beyond phenomenal.
The next day, we went to Anne Hathaway’s cottage. Not the actress, but the woman who got knocked up by Shakespeare and married him at the ripe age of 26. Her house was lovely, and the gardens were wonderful. It was funny to see just how superstitious people were in the 16th century. I swear, everything in her house was made of something that warded against witchcraft or had an ornament on it that prevented against witchcraft.
After that, we took the train to Warwick Castle, and were pretty much turned loose to our own devices for the day. It was quite lucky that we visited the castle a few days after Halloween, because they still had all their Halloween festivities going on, so naturally, scads of children and their families were running amuck over the castle grounds. There were pumpkins everywhere, it was a beautiful fall day, the air was crisp, and it was a really fun atmosphere. I had been expecting a more academic, serious trip to Warwick, since the castle features heavily in English history, especially during the Wars of the Roses, but it was fun to just chill out a bit too. The castle was really cool. They had lots of different exhibits explaining the history and significance of the castle, especially the Earl of Warwick during the Wars of the Roses, otherwise known as the Kingmaker because he played a heavy role in rebelling against Henry VI and placing Edward IV on the throne. Plus, they had a Merlin attraction there! As in the television show!! It cost extra money, and looked like it was geared toward children, so I refrained. But I was still pretty excited about it. There were lots of games and attractions for all the kids, like jousting demonstrations, face painting, carnival games, etc. We big bad college students felt a little awkward in the family atmosphere, but it was okay. OH! We went through a “haunted” maze that was not scary at all, but had some creepy people walking around in it, and several booby traps set for unwitting tourists like us, such as a water cannon that shot a jet of water at you whenever you tried to walk past it. And this jet of water was seriously the strength of a fire hose. My friends and I didn’t see the hiding water cannon when we walked past, so my friend and I got more than a face full of water. Definitely not something I recommend. hahaha but it was so funny in retrospect!
After Warwick Castle, we went to a darling little tea house for a late lunch, where I had some yummy pumpkin and apple soup, bread, cheese, and two cups of Earl Grey tea! My tea-drinking friends should be proud of me, the self-proclaimed tea-hater. Then we got on the train and went back to London! A very enjoyable two days!!