Stratford-Upon-Avon

This past Saturday I went with a group of people to Stratford-Upon-Avon, the now famous home of William Shakespeare. The town was beautiful, but entirely overrun by tourists. I could hardly stand it. Here are a few highlights.

(Photo of Hamlet statue)



We ate at a small pub, the oldest one in Stratford, the name of which I cannot remember. It is fun to see the inside of so many medieval pubs. I had some sort of fish dish. I wasn't crazy about it. Later that night I had fish and chips at The Dirty Duck, another infamous pub in Stratford (the one where all the actors head to after performances).



After lunch we headed to Shakespeare's burial place, a small church on the banks of the River Avon. The church was very quaint, as was the graveyard around it. In fact, there was a group of choir girls practicing just outside (I love when I spontaneously happen upon musi outdoors). The inside, however, where old Will is buried was so crowded with tourists I was almost sorry I'd come - and this is coming from someone who loves Shakespeare.



My friends and I took a rowboat onto the river. I'd never rowed before, and this turned out to be quite a challenge. I did do better than a lot of other people, though. Just had a hard time passing under bridges. The boats were all named after comedic Shakespearean heroines. Ours was Viola, of Twelfth Night.



We concluded the evening with a performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream by the Royal Shakespeare Company. I must say the performance was incredible, though I was bothered a bit by the length of Bottom's play at the end. It was absolutely hilarious, but a bit overdone.