Today was all about Shakespere, as we visted his hometown of Stratford upon Avon. The weather there was just as bipolar as it was in Birmingham with cold windy rain with random peaks of sunshine. Some of the places we visted were, the theater, Shakespere’s birthplace, chapels, statues and the cute shops that lined the streets.

Visting Shakespere’s birthplace was probably the most intresting part of todays visit. Getting to see how the house was set up along with how people lived during that time is something I found very fascinating. The house had low ceilings, wooden beams, stone floors, and traditional Tudor-style furniture, which made it feel very authentic and historic. The stone floors located in the guest bedroom were also the oringial flooring way back to when William was growing up. This was cool because we got to “walk in his foot steps”.

An intresting part of the house was the workshop that belonged to Shakespeare’s father, John Shakespeare, who worked as a glove maker. The workshop displayed tools, leather materials, and examples of handmade gloves. This helped us visitors understand the family’s trade and source of income. We also learned about the apprenticeships his father had and how they would stay in the upstairs bedroom in the loft.

The actual room where he was born was considered the parents bedroom. The bed inside the room was large with decorative curtains surrounding it. The guide explained that childbirth during Shakespeare’s time usually took place at home, with family members and midwives helping the mother. I found it intresting that being a midwife was a job at this point at time as well.

Some of the things in each room that represented wealth included, physically the multiple rooms in the house (typical building for this time was a single room with a single upstairs room), a separate workshop, stone flooring, a guest bedroom and glass windows.

During this time, Shakespere had many people living in this space. The house occupied, William’s father, John Shakespeare, William’s mother, Mary Arden Shakespeare, his wife and three children, along with his sisters family.

I also wanted to include the staues that could be found all across the town. There is one of him with statues surroudning him of his play write including  Hamlet, Lady Macbeth, Prince Hal, and Falstaff. Surrounding the statues, was beautiful landscaping and water fountains that made the general area just truly beautiful and nice to be around.

I also loved seeing the diveristy in dog breeds. We ran into so many puppies and rarely saw any duplicates. The dogs and their families were all walking, playing fetch and trying to enjoy the random burst of sunlight.

The town itself had a very traditonal look to it as well. The streets were lined with traditional black-and-white timbered buildings, many of which have been carefully preserved for hundreds of years. The old architecture gave the town a unique character and made it easy to imagine what Stratford may have looked like during the time of William Shakespeare. The town also had many tourist shops along with cafes and bakeries.

The town is also home to several theatres connected to Shakespeare’s work, especially the famous Royal Shakespeare Company. Seeing the theatre buildings highlighted how Stratford remains an important centre for drama and performance today. The theatres attract actors and visitors from around the world, helping to keep Shakespeare’s plays alive for modern audiences. It was also intresting as our tour guide had acted in a play and was able to recount personal stories of his time in the town.

Pictured below is a quote I found that I really loved:

Simple but was super cute to see.