Stratford-Upon-Avon

I love how my weekend filled with Beatles love songs and Shakespearean love stories led straight into Valentines Day. Except my Valentines Day was less about romance and more of a singles bash. I dressed to impress in pink and went out in Deansgate, the more upscale part of Manchester, to their big Monday event - Pout, which I think is very appropriately named for Valentines Day. Just think big red pouty lips and you'll get the idea.

I spent Sunday in the countryside of England in the town of Stratford-Upon-Avon. The one word I have for this town is quaint. The only big thing going for it is Shakespeare. They market 5 tours of Shakespeare's hometown, but it's really funny because some of them are the house of like Shakespeare's granddaughter's husband's cousin's minister's hairdresser. Shakespeare's actual house no longer stands.

Stratford sightings:

City centre:

River Avon:

Stratford-on-Avon District Council building:

We toured Shakespeare's father's house, Shakespeare's birthplace. This one was my favorite because it included the main museum and live actors dressed for the time period. It's amazing how many people shared a 12x20 bedroom. That's the size of my old dorm room, which 2 of us shared. But back in the day, Shakespeare and his family and servants all slept in a room about that size, with those not in the bed sharing floorspace.

The Birthplace:

Then we toured Hall's Croft, Shakespeare's daughter and son-in-law's house, and Nash's House, Shakespeare's granddaughter's first husband's house. They both are typical country houses that have been furnished for the time period. Nash's House has an absolutely stunning garden, that's something I'd want to see again in the springtime.

Hall's Croft:

Nash's House:

The garden (mind you, it's raining):

We decided to walk to Anne Hathaway's cottage (Shakespeare's wife, not the actress). It's famous for its thatched roof. However, right as we decided to perform this mile trek through suburbean England, it of course started to pour rain. Good thing I wore my rain boots. It was very interesting to venture through a small town though, since I've mostly have been visiting cities.

Anne Hathaway's Cottage:

We even saw Shakespeare's grave, which is in the mist of a beautiful church dating back to the 1200s. Even though a lot smaller, I liked this one more than the Liverpool Cathedral because of its old timeyness.

Holy Trinity Church:

Shakespeare's grave:

One thing about England - when you're not eating in the dining hall, there's amazing food. Anything that says English traditional or homemade and I'm in. At this one cafe, I had a homemade cake-like dish covered in cream.

And they really do drink tea all the time, and being a southern girl who doesn't even drink sweet tea that often, I'd never thought I'd say it - but I've started having tea (English breakfast, Eral Grey, or peppermint) at least once a day.

Another interesting part of my Sunday was after I came home. Try being in the shower for all of a minute when the fire alarm gets pulled. Brought me back to my freshman days in Granville West when people would sometimes pull the fire alarm twice in one night. However, people don't exactly just go around pulling the fire alarm here, especially at 10 on a Sunday. So, after much debate, I did get out, change, and didn't even make it down the steps when it stopped. Of course.

Today I found a great website that streams movies for free. Even movies that are still in the theater. I'd been wanting to watch Eat.Pray.Love. since I finished the book on my flight over here. The Italy section is making me so excited to visit over my Spring break!