The last stop on our tour is Stratford-upon-Avon. This charming little city is very different from London, and I can definitely tell I’m not in the big city. Stratford-upon-Avon is a lot smaller and quieter than London. There are hardly any police sirens, which is really nice. There isn’t really any car honking either. There’s also a LOT less people and it isn’t very touristy. There aren’t really any big and/or tall buildings. I think I could walk through all of Stratford in just a day or even an afternoon. Of course that’s just a walk, not stopping to visit any of the historical sites. It also feels like I’m closer to the countryside.
I am grateful for modern transportation. In today’s time, the journey between London and Stratford-upon-Avon only takes two and a half hours, but back in Shakespeare’s day it would have taken him three days to travel between his two homes. Because of the time it took to travel from one place to another, Shakespeare would often stay at the place he had traveled to for long periods of time, usually years.
It was so cool looking around and exploring where Shakespeare was born and where he lived as well as learning about his earlier years. Before our trip here I had no idea that his father was a glove maker and William could have been one as well if he hadn’t married Anne. I didn’t know that William Shakespeare had kids or that he had married only at the age of 18. I also didn’t know where he lived or where he was born. I enjoyed visiting the houses Shakespeare had lived in, and I loved exploring the different gardens at each house, especially the garden at the house Shakespeare shared with Anne and their children. It was a lot bigger than I would have thought with a large open lawn at the end of the garden. I also loved walking through the arched trellis walkway. It was covered in greenery and some of the vines even had fruit on them.
Unfortunately, our trip to England is coming to a close with our trip to Stratford-upon-Avon. I was not sure that I wanted to leave the safety of my comfort zone to travel across the ocean for four weeks without my family, but I survived and had a great time while I was here. I saw many different theater productions, found a Ukrainian vegan pastry cafe, made some friends, and saw so many interesting museums and artifacts. I loved visiting the different palaces and seeing the crown jewels. I liked going to the parks and I enjoyed going everywhere we went as a group. I liked most of the shows we went to see as a group and the show I went to see by myself. I’m glad I had the opportunity to see and do everything I’ve done during my study abroad adventure.
Theatre in London U of A 