This morning we got up a little earlier to take the train to Stratford-upon-Avon. This is where Shakespeare was born and grew up, which is so cool! Once we arrived, we walked into the town to meet Tim. I was happy to have him as our tour guide again because he explains things well and keeps us engaged!
We got to see a statue of Shakespeare that is surrounded by additional sculptures of characters from his plays. Here, Tim quizzed us on our Shakespeare knowledge by giving us some quotes to see if we knew what play they were from. I only knew one, and it was from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” When it comes to Shakespeare himself, I learned that his birth date and death date are on the same day, and it is said that this symmetry makes sense for such a poetic mastermind. We also learned that an event called the Shakespeare Jubilee in 1769, which acted as the first major public celebration for Shakespeare, really put him on the map. Following this, we headed over to the Royal Shakespeare Theater (RSC theater). On our way there, we witnessed a boat that had to fit under a bridge it was too tall for. In order to make this work, a boat lock comes into use, which I had never heard of before. I found it fascinating that the lock was able to lower the water level enough so that the boat could fit under the bridge. Once we got to RSC, we took the elevator to the top of the building to see a beautiful view of Stratford-upon-Avon. We could look out from all sides and see for miles- it was very cool!
While we were here, Tim debunked the myth that Shakespeare did not really write all his work. He compared Shakespeare’s unbelievable talent to Mozart, who was writing compositions at 4 years old, to show that young, incredible talent does exist. Following this, we walked over to the Holy Trinity Church, where Shakespeare is buried. On our way we saw some cute boats that have female characters from his plays, such as Romeo and Ophelia. I was impressed with the church’s beautiful architecture both inside and outside. The stained glass was beautiful and contained great detail. Not only is Shakespeare buried at this church, but so are some of his family and the family of Sir Clopton, who played a huge role in the development of the town. Tim pointed out to us, how when looking straight back at the front of the church from the back, the front is off-centered and appears to veer more left. One main reason this is said to have been done is to symbolize Christ’s head on the cross, which leans this way too.
Before our lunch break, we stopped into a beautiful chapel. All the pews were lined with lights, which I had never seen before. We learned that the building was originally a Catholic chapel, but was taken control over by the town council and turned Protestant during the Reformation. During this time, the original Catholic paintings on the wall were covered up by the reformers. They did not like the beliefs and imagery the Catholic paintings portrayed. They used lime wash to cover up the artwork, not knowing that lime wash would actually help protect and preserve the paint underneath. By now, lots of the original artwork has been recovered and visible. The main artwork demonstrates two sides, both showing after life, but one being hell and one being heaven.
For lunch, Cameron, Ruby, and I went to the Boston Tea Party restaurant. I got eggs Benedict on toast and an iced matcha. I had never tried eggs Benedict before, and I really liked it. After we finished lunch, we wanted to walk around Stratford and check out some of the cute shops. Before heading back to meet the group for a tour of Shakespeare’s house, we stopped for gelato. I got banana and a ricotta-raspberry-pistachio flavor and both were very good.
Going into Shakespeare’s house was very surreal. Throughout high school English classes I heard his name a lot and read some of his work, but never thought I would be inside his old home! As we walked through the house, there were resourceful tour guides in each major room, explaining any stories behind the space. I learned that when families had a little more money, they had a parlor room, where a bed was kept. This was the “best-bed”, being the most expensive and important for hosting guests. On the contrary, the “second-best” bed was typically upstairs, and in this case, was John and Anne’s marital bed. A fun-fact is that John left this bed to Anne in his will, which could be seen initially as an insult, but it really was not. Since this was the bed they shared together, it held more value and was a more sentimental gift. To sum it up, Stratford-upon-Avon was a very cute town with a cottage-like feel. I really enjoyed hearing some more about Shakespeare, who I had always heard the name of in school, but never knew much about. Tim was a fantastic tour guide for us both today and on Sunday, so it was a little sad to say our goodbyes to him. I loved learning more today and enjoyed my meals, which is always a bonus! See you tomorrow when we are in London!
