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Since it is Reading Week for the Anthroplogy department here at Brunel, I headed to Stratford-Upon-Avon with my classmate Angela on Tuesday. Our day started with a very wet walk in the rain to the tube station at 5:30 am. Despite the rain, we made it to London Marylebone train station with plenty of time. Luckily the rain stopped and by the time we reached Stratford-Upon-Avon a little over two hours later it was only overcast although rather chilly. Some of the sights/events of the day:
*Shakespeare's Birthplace: We visited the house where William Shakespeare was born on April 23, 1564 and spent his formative years. Before entering the house and garden, we viewed an exhibit telling about Shakespeare's parents, siblings (did you know he was one of eight children and the first to surive past infancy?), and life. We then walked through the garden and into the house owned by his parents. We were allowed to tour several rooms where there were guides to explain how the rooms were used. (As a side note, one of the guides asked us where we were from and told me that he liked to call the area I was from Steeler country!) We left the house hoping we would be inspired to write our essays!
Holy Trinity Church: This is the church where Shakespeare is buried with his wife, Anne Hathaway, in the chancel. The Parish Register records his baptism in 1564 and his death in 1616. On the north wall is a bust of Shakespeare that was erected about 7 years after his death and overlooks his grave. The church was beautiful.
Butterfly Farm: I was a little skeptical about going to the Butterfly Farm after my last experience at one in the UK (there were hardly any butterflies!) but I'm glad we decided to go. There were loads of butterflies everywhere! The humidity in the flying room didn't quite agree with my hair (ha ha!) and for the first ten minutes or so my camera lens kept fogging up after coming in from the cold weather outside, but once you got used to the beautiful creatures flying around your head it was a brilliant experience. There were big glass cases full of cocoons/chrysalises and we even saw a brand new butterfly beginning to stretch its wings for the first time. We breezed through the other rooms since neither of us are big snake and spider fans. I preferred to rest on a bench and watch the butterflies flutter through the air.
Falstaff's Experience: This living museum, housed in the genuinely haunted 16th century Shrieves House Barn, was supposed to be one of the "most exciting and unusual tourist attractions" in Stratford-Upon-Avon, but we were both extremely disappointed. Definitely not worth the admission fee if you ask me. Some of the information was interesting, but there was no guide and several of the displays did not work.
Unfortunately because of the high waters no boats were on the River Avon and we weren't able to take the river cruise. We also had wanted to visit the Teddy Bear Museum but, ironically, it had recently been moved to London. We were bummed that we weren't able to see William Shakesbeare! The rain also returned in the afternoon so we headed back to London a little earlier than we had originally planned. But we had a fun day out and are looking forward to this Saturday's day trip to Leeds! Stay tuned for that report...
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