Today was filled with so many adventures in Stratford-upon-avon. My friends and I started the day by exploring the town and we came across a Cat Cafe. There were 10 beautiful British cats that wanted lots of love. After we left the cafe we explored many of the shopping centers and got souvenirs for our family members!! We did our shopping and we went to our first foreign Mcdonalds! The options were endless compared to American McDonald’s. However, American McDonald’s has more sauce options.
The rest of the day, we were led by an amazing tourist guide that was also an actor. He told us all about the history of Stratford and Shakespeare! We started the tour by looking at the different monuments representing Stratford history. We visited the Guide Chapel, it has been a place of worship for over 750 years.
Towards the end of the trip we visited where Shakespeare had his last moments and his birthplace. One thing I thought was really exciting was that there was a museum about Shakespeare before you went into his birthplace. Baroness Floella Benjamin had a piece named, “Have you been inspired by Shakespeare?” and had 4 quotes of Shakespeare and had marbles lined up for people to put what their favorite quote was out of the 4. This was very intriguing to me because I got to see how different people related to the quotes emotionally.
When I entered the Shakespeare home, the first part of the home is where Shakespeare’s sister, Joan Hart, lived. Since the cottage was so big and expensive Shakespeare and his wife were able to split the cottage with his sister and her husband. The properties were previously owned by Shakespeare’s father until he passed away in 1601, then Shakespeare inherited his father’s properties. The main part of the house was called The Hall, this was used for the final preparation of food and for dining. At the top of the table was one chair used for the head of the household, usually the father. Where you sat at the table indicated your status. Shakespeare’s birthplace was built from local materials like oak that was found at a nearby forest called Forest of Aden. Even though much of the house was reconstructed, some of the original structures in the house still remain.
On the way back to the train station, I saw a picture of Thomas Shelby aka Cillian Murphy . He is an actor in my favorite British TV show, the Peaky Blinders and it made my entire day!! 🙂
At the end of the trip I realized how different Birmingham and Stratford were. You could tell Stratford was more history based and Birmingham is more restaurant and shopping based. Overall, I’m glad I got to see a different side of England and expand my knowledge of the Stratford Shakespeare history.