Sunday, September 25, 2005
Day 122: Birmingham, Stratford-upon-Avon
September 25: Both Luke and me decided it was time for a sleep-in, so neither of us moved for most of the morning.
Mind you, I then spent the next 2 hours re-packing my belongings.
We then decided, after my eagerness wore off onto Luke, that we should go to Stratford-upon-Avon, the home of William Shakespeare.
The drive was under an hour but unfortunately it rained on and off most of the afternoon.
We saw four out of the five Shakespeare houses, including the house on Henley Street where he grew up until he moved to London, Nash´s House (which belonged to Shakespeare´s granddaughter adnd husband - it included a museum with history on Stratford and artefacts dating back to Roman, Tudor and Norman times) and New Place which is the house where Shakespere lived until he died... but this house no longer exists, it´s now a garden attached to Nash´s House.
We also went to Hall´s Croft, the house which once belonged to Shakespeare´s daughter and husband, John Hall. Hall was a doctor with highly regarded patients. Part of this house is dedicated to early medicine studies and Hall´s observations and records of his patients which was converted into a book.
The fourth house was a little out of town. Anne Hathaway´s cottage is beautiful. Anne Hathaway lived in this house, and was proposed to by Shakespeare here, before going off later to become his wife.
There are gardens out the back with trees and shrubs mentioned in Shakespeare´s plays, sculptures and even a garden maze.
The fifth house is Mary Arden´s , which is where Shakepeare´s mother grew up... but again it was out of town and we were running out of time.
Just before the evening mass, Luke and I managed to visit Holy Trinity Church. This is where William Shakespeare, along with other members of his family are buried. There´s also a small monument there, near the altar, in his memory.
Stratford is a very cute town, set on the River Avon. Royal Shakespeare Theatre is down by the bank, so too lots of canal boats, swans and ducks.
Lots of references to the Swan (Shakespeare´s nickname), Shakespeare, his plays and other family members throughout the town... its cafes, shops, pubs etc. They really are proud of his achievements... and everything about him, so it seems.
Had a great afternoon. Very happy I went!
Returned back to Birmingham for a relaxing night. Had a home-cooked dinner and watched ¨Snow Falling on Cedars¨ movie on cable TV.
Mind you, I then spent the next 2 hours re-packing my belongings.
We then decided, after my eagerness wore off onto Luke, that we should go to Stratford-upon-Avon, the home of William Shakespeare.
The drive was under an hour but unfortunately it rained on and off most of the afternoon.
We saw four out of the five Shakespeare houses, including the house on Henley Street where he grew up until he moved to London, Nash´s House (which belonged to Shakespeare´s granddaughter adnd husband - it included a museum with history on Stratford and artefacts dating back to Roman, Tudor and Norman times) and New Place which is the house where Shakespere lived until he died... but this house no longer exists, it´s now a garden attached to Nash´s House.
We also went to Hall´s Croft, the house which once belonged to Shakespeare´s daughter and husband, John Hall. Hall was a doctor with highly regarded patients. Part of this house is dedicated to early medicine studies and Hall´s observations and records of his patients which was converted into a book.
The fourth house was a little out of town. Anne Hathaway´s cottage is beautiful. Anne Hathaway lived in this house, and was proposed to by Shakespeare here, before going off later to become his wife.
There are gardens out the back with trees and shrubs mentioned in Shakespeare´s plays, sculptures and even a garden maze.
The fifth house is Mary Arden´s , which is where Shakepeare´s mother grew up... but again it was out of town and we were running out of time.
Just before the evening mass, Luke and I managed to visit Holy Trinity Church. This is where William Shakespeare, along with other members of his family are buried. There´s also a small monument there, near the altar, in his memory.
Stratford is a very cute town, set on the River Avon. Royal Shakespeare Theatre is down by the bank, so too lots of canal boats, swans and ducks.
Lots of references to the Swan (Shakespeare´s nickname), Shakespeare, his plays and other family members throughout the town... its cafes, shops, pubs etc. They really are proud of his achievements... and everything about him, so it seems.
Had a great afternoon. Very happy I went!
Returned back to Birmingham for a relaxing night. Had a home-cooked dinner and watched ¨Snow Falling on Cedars¨ movie on cable TV.
# posted by mishij @ 2:33 PM 
