Shakespeare Can’t Come Out to Play Today

Today Dan and I visited Stratford Upon Avon, birthplace of William Shakespeare.

The weather is terrible down here. Before I came I asked Dan how the weather was, he said he had just been wearing a t shirt. Usually it is nicer down here than in Edinburgh and the weather back home had been pretty nice. I packed a couple of outfits accordingly. It is so cold I have had to wear all my clothes at once. I mustn’t complain though. I’m sure tomorrow when I arrive in Egypt I will remember shivering with the cold by the Avon river fondly as I feverishly mop my brow.

I had visited Stratford Upon Avon once before, with Dan’s nan and brother, and it is a really lovely place. It is an enjoyable place to wander around and Shakespeare’s legacy is evident everywhere you look. I had visited inside Shakespeare’s house then so we didn’t go inside this time but I took some pictures outside. The best part of the inside of the house is the vandalised window pane. Some of the greatest authors in the World have visited Shakespeare’s house. Charles Dickens and Sir Walter Scott are among the naughty literary greats who left their names in his house.

We had lunch in a tea room opposite Shakespeare’s house followed by a walk to the Royal Shakespeare Company. We would have loved to see a play but there was nothing showing during the day. We had a look around the gift shop instead. My favourite item: Team Capulet and Team Montague badges.

We took a walk along the river and stopped at a pretty little church. It turned out to be the resting place of Shakespeare and we paid to see his and Anne Hathaway’s graves. My favourite part of the day was when the ticket seller thought I was a 13 year old French student and only charged me 50P to get in. “Francais?” He said handing me a brochure. “Eh….oui” I said. I saved myself £1.50 and was chuffed to bits for the rest of the day. Stratford was full of school groups. I know the kind because the same groups descend en masse to Edinburgh. They are always rambunctious teens from the Continent. They usually wear pale jeans, puffa jackets and rucksacks and they have too much confidence.

We went to a few shops before heading home. We visited the Christmas shop whose owner, if local rumours are to be believed eats Christmas dinner every day of the year. Now I am doing my final packing and organising little bits (and stressing the fuck out) before I have to leave in the morning for my flight.