Shakespeare Town

This past weekend was our free travel weekend for the program. A group of six of us decided to go to Stratford-upon-Avon overnight because it was one of the main places that we are not traveling to altogether. It was a super fun trip. We stayed at this little Bed and Breakfast complete with Brambles the cat and a full English breakfast (that really did keep us full until 6:00). We made laps around the town of Stratford, saw all there was to see and then planned a day trip to Warwick Castle. Stratford was William Shakespeare's birthplace and hometown and I think they basically worship him there. For example, the church he is buried in is called "The Holy Trinity Church (Shakespeare's Church)." So we saw all the Shakespearean houses and a few other cool things there...here are the highlights.


We met this man dressed as Shakespeare on the street and he took us up to the schoolroom where Shakespeare went to school. It was really cool because it's usually not open to the public but he was hosting an art exhibition there that night. The top picture is Shakespeare's initials carved into a window pane in the school. The bottom pic...um, the Shakespeare guy wanted to do a dramatic pose. I think he was pretending to be the headmaster...and we were the students. It works right?


The best part of our whole meeting up with Shakespeare's double was that he invited us to be his "personal guests" at the art exhibition that night. So of course we went and walked around and looked at all the art holding our wine glasses full of apple juice (lucky they had apple juice). It was really cool. The best part of the whole night...one of the original founders of the Royal Shakespeare Company had been invited as an honored guest and he performed a scene from King Lear. It was so cool. He was really really talented and just blew the roof off, even though I'm pretty sure he was close to ninety. It was a pretty cool random thing. I think we make new best friends everywhere we go. It's great.

Shakespeare's birthplace

All of us along the river Avon. We hung out here for quite a while after the art exhibition.


The Creaky Cauldron: Museum of Witchcraft and Wizardology also makes its home in Stratford, right next to Shakespeare's birthplace, so of course we had to go. Here I'm being sorted by the Sorting Hat...and I was definitely Gryffindor. Woohoo!

I made some friends at the museum. This is Matilda. I don't think many people like her much, but I decided that she probably had some good qualities. Come to find out, we have a lot in common.

Me, making potions and other such things. With my hat I sort of look like a Newsies boys making potions...but I guess it works.