Day 5: Stratford-Upon-Avon

March 14

   Stratford was unbelievable. The train ride was wonderful… I loved that I got the opportunity to see the countryside! The sheep and the horses were great. I was shocked by the distance from London though… It seemed so far! What was a long 2-hour train ride for us must have taken Shakespeare days to travel. He must have been very intent upon making a career for himself to leave his family so far away. No wonder he didn’t travel back and forth!

 The town itself was great. The houses were exactly as I had hoped; old, beautiful, and rich with history. It was also understandable though why Shakespeare would have wanted to leave the birthplace house. It was quite small! It was also a great contrast to the grandeur of his daughter Susanna’s daughter’s house… Though I do wonder whether the money came from her doctor husband or from Shakespeare’s own success. It just felt wonderful to be in the town, to see things that had inspired such great work.

 His church was magnificent as well. Such antiquated beauty (even though it has been altered over the centuries) humbles me. I found the introductory session in the very beginning of the trip to be entertaining… I appreciated the myriad of performance clips. I did not, however, particularly enjoy the lecture. He had interesting ideas and I appreciated the time he took to write up the notes for us. I thought his t-shirt and multimedia components were amusing, but overall I had grown tired of hearing the same things about ‘The Comedy of Errors.’

Lunch was fabulous. I loved the elderflower soda and of course, my favorite bangers and mash. Thank you, Professor Wade. :) 

My friends and I had gotten up early for the 2 hour train ride, so we were sleepy! We were very excited though.

The countryside was beautiful... My favorite part of the train ride was the sheep!!

The Birthplace!

Our first steps into Shakespeare's hometown... It was gorgeous! I love that they maintained the Tudor aesthetic. 

Shakespeare's childhood home! It was tiny, but adorable!

The Dean's Scholars all together in front of the house.

Elderflower soda- Odd but delicious!

The Dean's Scholars in front of Shakespeare's childhood schoolhouse- an original building!

The Scholars on Scholar's Lane!! This was the street that Shakespeare walked along as a boy to get to school.

Shakespeare's daughter's home. It was huge!

Shakespeare's church (Holy Trinity) and final resting place.

The Gerard Johnson bust above Shakespeare's grave. Could this be what he looked like?

I was mourning at Shakespeare's grave.

The Scholars in front of the graves of Shakespeare and his family.

We mourned together!

The Dirty Duck Pub, where we ate dinner! It was named by American soldiers during WWII. 

Chicken and mushroom pie turned out to be a new favorite... I even made my own when I got back home! Scrumptious. 

Classic British fish and chips with mushy peas! Available everywhere. So yummy!