We drove to Stratford-upon-Avon with Uncle Azhar to see where Shakespeare was born and grew up. We met our cousin's other grandma (who we all call Nanny) there.
(Us with Nanny by the River Avon)
Nanny lives right by the town centre and was more than happy to show us around. Stratford-upon-Avon is BEAUTIFUL. The river Avon flows through a lovely park and the town itself has cute little Tudor houses, shops, and taverns. The names of the local stores and restaurants come from Shakespeare's imagination, which was exciting for me to see.
One of the restaurants we ate at was called "The Food of Love," which comes from Twelfth Night ("if music be the food of love, play on"). There was a dress shop called Cordelia (character from King Lear) too. My favorite was a boat company called each of its rental boats after a female character from one of Shakespeare's plays - Juliet (Romeo and Juliet) and Ophelia (Hamlet) were present!
(We love the park and river:)
(Rowboats on the River Avon)
We started at the Holy Trinity Church to see where Shakespeare was baptized and later buried. Anne Hathaway, his wife, was buried next to him. We walked around the town and saw the outside of the house where Shakespeare was born. We had to drive out of the town centre to see other important sites, including Anne Hathaway's cottage.
(Holy Trinity Church)
(Shakespeare's grave)
(Can you see Shakespeare's bust on the left?)
(Outside Shakespeare's birthplace)
(Anne Hathaway's cottage)
Nanny recommended that we all go inside Mary Arden's Farm (also outside the town centre), which belonged to Shakespeare's mother's family. The farm still works today - we got to see sheep, cows, horses, pigs, and bunnies. Rabia was disgusted, but I liked seeing all of the animals, especially in the proper English countryside. The pigs were very smelly though.
(Mary Arden's Farm)
(Uncle Azhar loves animals)
(Gross...)
We learned that the people who originally turned the farm into a tourist attraction picked the wrong building as Mary Arden's house. When they consulted records from the past, they learned that she lived in a different house on the farm and only occupied a few rooms at that. We actually made the same mistake and thought the first house we toured was Mary Arden's, but later found the real one.
(Inside Mary Arden's real house - look how low the ceilings are!)
The house was cute, but the ceilings were really low. Nanny was impressed with how resourceful people were back in the day with their woven baskets and spinning wheels. Thank goodness we have modern technology.
We had dinner back in town right by the park. The weather was beautiful again - we've been really lucky here. At 7:15, we went to the theatre to see the RSC's (Royal Shakespeare Company) production of Julius Caesar. It was set in modern Africa, but the Shakespearean language was the same. Though the seats were uncomfortable (I guess the RSC really wanted the theatre to resemble the Globe), I enjoyed the show. The acting was brilliant and I loved hearing Shakespearean language in an African accent.
(Yay Stratford!)
(Theatre we went to see Julius Caesar in)
(Inside the theatre before the show)
After the show, we took Nanny back to her place and drove back to Rugby. It was such a lovely day - now that I know Stratford-upon-Avon is so close to Rugby (about 45 minutes), I will definitely come back next time I visit!
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