Last weekend, we visited Stratford–upon–Avon for the first time. It only took a couple of hours to get there from London, and we had great, sunny weather all weekend. Unfortunately, this meant the pollen count was high, which caused hay fever problems for one of us. Other than that, though, we had a fun time exploring all the historic sites related to Shakespeare and his family. The highlight for me was the Anne Hathaway Cottage, which was just outside of the village. It had a thatched roof and just felt like a really old, authentic Elizabethan house. We also loved wandering through the gardens and the grove of trees nearby.
Holy Trinity Church was another favorite site. This was actually the first place we visited, after dropping off our bags at the B&B. The setting of the church was lovely—on the banks of the river, and it was a nice, old church to walk through. This was where Shakespeare was baptized and where he’s buried.
We were able to get last minute tickets to As You Like It, which was great. They actually cooked meat on the stage (The actors were gathered around a small flame and you could smell the meat cooking over the fire) and at one point a character skinned a dead rabbit. I’ve never seen that in a play before.
We also spent a sunny afternoon in a row boat on the Avon, one of us reclining and enjoying a leisurely ride while the other took care of the actual rowing.
I will admit that there was one low point to the trip to me—breakfast at the B&B. This trip may mark the last time we agree to a proper hot English breakfast at a B&B. We decided it’s hit and miss…with many more misses than hits! This time, it was really poor quality bacon and sausage, fried mushrooms and runny eggs over the greasiest fried toast you’ve ever had. I was forced to discreetly fold some of the food into a napkin and hide it in my purse so I could pretend I’d eaten it. That kind of food is not my idea of a good way to start the day.
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