My Fantastic Shakespearience

Please forgive my corny title of a blog - it makes me chuckle. Today was an absolutely incredible day! Kinsey, Kaitlin, and I headed to the tube station at 7:15 this morning to go on a tour to Warwick Castle and Stratford-upon-Avon. We met our driver and our guide at 8:30ish and headed off to Warwick Castle. I must say, Warwick (the town) and the castle were probably some of the prettiest places I’ve ever been. The town is a little old English country town with Tudor style houses and a “you know everyone” vibe. It was adorable! We drove through it to get to the castle. The castle was, for lack of a better word, amazing! The structure itself was beautiful, the lawns were very green, and the views were the best part. We started by walking the high walls around the castle. I must say, the stairs were very, very steep and dark. However, we climbed multiple sets of them and saw wonderful views from the tops of towers. After walking the wall, we ended up in an exhibit owned by Madame Tussaud’s. There were wax figures preparing for a duel or something of the like. The people were SO realistic – I was impressed. The three of us also got to try on helmets. They were heavy and fell right over our faces! It made for a great picture. After that, we saw more wax figures at a Victorian party, Henry VIII and his wives, and lots of armor and knight things. Then, we walked further down around the castle, to the river Avon. Oh my goodness, I fell in love! The views on the river were breathtaking and we saw such quaint little houses. Before we left the castle, we stopped in the rose garden that was just starting to have blooming flowers. So, so nice! All in all, the castle was wonderful and I had a great time.

We decided, after the castle, to go into Warwick and get lunch. We found this place called a hospital. It was intended more for hospitality purposes, not curing ailments. Only the tea room was open and we had a cute little lunch in there. We had a very, very nice waiter – we liked him a lot. We had to rush lunch, though, because we had to be on the bus by 2 and we didn’t get food until 1:45. Luckily, we ate everything and made it back to the bus with one minute to spare. Go us!

After Warwick, we drove about 30 minutes to Stratford-upon-Avon, cute, adorable town #2. I was so excited to get in touch with Shakespeare and, I have to say, the town has gone bard crazy! The shops and restaurants had names with references to his plays and such. So fun! We began by taking a quick driving tour around the town. We saw Anne Hathaway’s Cottage, the school where he was supposedly schooled, Harvard House, and many other relatable sights. We really only had like an hour and a half to wander around Stratford (boo), but we sure made the most of it! We started by dashing to the house where Shakespeare was born. We stood in the room where Shakespeare was born!! I thought it was incredible. After touring the house, we ran over to Trinity Church to see his grave. He was buried with his wife, daughter, and other family members. After the church, we ran to see the river Avon. It was so cute. The skies were so blue with gorgeous white clouds. People were hanging out and picnicking - I was jealous! Unfortunately, after that, we had to start heading back to the coach. On the way, we stopped at a little café called As You Like It to get ice cream and cupcakes – yum! We also stopped at a bookstore because I had my heart set on buying a Shakespearean play in Stratford upon Avon. Books were quite expensive, though, so I bought myself a nice little bookmark instead. After Stratford, we started the two-or-so ride back to London.

Before heading back to the flat, we decided to get dinner out. We appropriately ate at Warwick Castle pub in our neighborhood. It was fairly empty and food was so good. We had a great time! Now I’m back, blogging my little heart out and getting myself ready to do work. It was a wonderful day and I want to go back SO BADLY!