basically, we do everything in stratford-upon-avon and then some

Hello friends! I’m just now getting the chance to sit down in a Costa (the Starbucks of England) to air-conditioning, a giant iced Americano, and a panettone (a traditional Italian cake-- kind of like a muffin with raisins, nuts, and orange zest). The Brits are experiencing a rather “devastating heat-wave” (and by that, I mean 90 degrees…), and they’re at a loss of what to do. Unlike us Americans, they’re not super familiar with the concept of air conditioning…I’ve just been guzzling water and searching for AC where I can find it.

Yesterday, we rose bright and early and fueled up on hostel breakfast for a full day. May I just say that, though I’m grateful for the free hostel breakfast, six weeks of the same breakfast becomes quite dull—I can’t wait to get back to the states and eat pancakes, waffles, French-toast, cinnamon rolls! I dream. And I never want to see baked beans or canned tomatoes for breakfast ever EVER again.

anne's cottage

At nine, we took a bus to Anne Hathaway’s cottage. No, not THAT Anne Hathaway—Shakespeare’s wife. Built in 1463, the Hathaway family moved into the small two roomed cottage in the 1500’s—it was where Anne grew up, courted William, and eventually lived with him for a few years. The small sheep cottage was gradually expanded and built onto, but the kitchen still has its original flooring, and Shakespeare probably walked there several centuries ago, so that was cool. We toured the house and the gardens, which were small but quite beautiful.  We also saw the bed Shakespeare left to Anne in his will—probably their marriage bed (cue “Awwww!”). 

anne and william's wedding bed

Next, we took a bus into Stratford-upon-Avon. We had a bit of time to kill before we toured Shakespeare’s birthplace, so I wondered around a bit, trying to avoid the tourist traps and kind of succeeding. I bought my first British pasty (a hot buttery roll, filled with meat and vegetables—think portable pot pie), listened to a street performer belting out Les Mis, and found several charity shops. The entire city capitalizes upon the fact that Shakespeare was born there, and it gets a bit old after awhile.

shakespeare's house

Met up with the group to tour Shakespeare’s House, which was kind of interesting, but also rather small (keep in mind we’re cramming 40 people into these small Tudor buildings). Most of it was original, and we got to see the room where William was born. After that, we headed to the Harvard House. Built in 1596, 85% of the house is original, from the carefully crafted wood-work outside to the rich oak floor-boards inside, it’s a three-story beautifully preserved home, and a small bit of notable history. 

Not going to lie, though—after awhile, walking through all these old houses becomes a bit…boring. You’ve seen one, you’ve kind of seen them all. They’re small, crowded, and cramped. I mean, it’ll be cool to say: “I was in the same room Shakespeare was born in,” but honestly when you’re hot, tired, and with a group of cranky collegiates….

We perked up a bit with a visit to “Hooray’s: British Gelato Kitchen” where I got a gelato scoop of Jammy Dodger. Apparently, it’s a British butter-biscuit with a jelly filling, and the gelato version was quite delicious.

Next, we headed to Trinity Church, where Shakespeare was christened, married (a bit of debate on that one), and buried. We saw his grave, which is located by the altar of the church. His epitaph is actually a curse, warning no one to move his bones.

trinity church-- such pretty windows

shakespeare's grave-- "curst be he who move my bones"

Later, we had a few hours, so we wondered through the city again and ended up in a random coffee shop where we took advantage of the AC and free wifi—things I’m learning quickly to be very grateful for. Wondered through a few back-alley’s before heading to an M&S (grocery and clothes—like a Target) where we purchased a few light things before meandering to a public park to munch on our dinner. 

these kids are keeping me sane

The evening was spent watching Othello at the Royal Shakespeare Company. 

royal shakespeare company (eek!)

It was absolutely astonishing. I’ve never seen a Shakespeare play done that well. The set and costuming were modern and the cast was very diverse: there were black and Asian actors, a disabled actor, and women playing traditionally male roles. Iago himself was black, giving the play a whole new layer of interpretation. When it was over, we all just sort of stared at each other open-mouthed, unable to fully comprehend what we had just seen. It was excellent, but very difficult subject matter, dealing with racism, sexism, and the reality of brutal war (torture scenes and what-not). 

stage set for othello (the middle part opens up onto a pool of water)

We headed back around 10 pm, arriving home around 12 am. This morning, we set out at 9 again. After a bit of trouble with our bus (causing a brief pit stop at a rest area), we made our way to Coventry, where we visited the modern-day Coventry Cathedral. Construction began in 1951, after the destruction of the medieval St. Michael’s in a bombing blitz of 1940. 

the remains of st. michael's still exist

Quite a few notable modern artists worked together to create this modern-day cathedral, and it’s really quite stunning inside. Spacious, minimalistic, and geometric, the cathedral is filled with soft natural lighting, and feels new and fresh. Everywhere you turn, there’s a prayer chapel standing off to the side or a mural or quilt work hanging from the wall. I prefer the older chapels, but this one was still quite gorgeous. 

modern day stained glass

the sanctuary

outside decorations of the cathedral

A group of us went to Nando’s, a fast-food chicken joint, for lunch before we hopped back on the bus and headed to Cambridge. This trip really should be called Wheaton in Buses, because we seem to spend most of our time on them. 

much good chicken, many good friends

Anywho, we’re here for a few days and I hope to be keeping you updated on Cambridge. It looks like a cute little university town—I’m excited to explore it. Our hostel is nice, but it doesn’t have AC—we had to ask for a small fan. The desk clerk said “Well, I wasn’t aware our rooms were that hot.” Well—they are. 

Crossing my fingers I can sleep tonight; the heat has been so bad the past few nights, it’s rather hard to do so in stuffy hostel rooms, and the windows are only allowed to crack open. Also, I’m apparently allergic to England, because my allergies have been going non-stop since I’ve gotten here. Happy to be here, don’t get me wrong, but kind of ready to head home soon.

Tomorrow is a walking tour of Cambridge. Stay posted. Thanks for reading, friends. Sorry this is a rather long post. Had a lot to cram in.