The Cutest Place on Earth

Amber here. Stratford-Upon-Avon is my favorite of all the places we've been so far. It was quaint, homey feeling and downright lovely. From the train station, we walked the short 10 minute route to the center of town, passing all kinds of specialty stores and eventually stopping at Shakespeare's birthplace. We toured the house, which had pretty gardens, but was a little boring. They had a lot of replicas of furniture, etc., which is never as exciting as seeing the real things. We did however feel rather smart, seeing that we already knew most all of the information provided there--I guess that's one of the benefits of having to teach this stuff to high-school age children.

Later, we walked by the Avon River, admiring the tiny house boats, row boats and barges, many of which had stores or eateries on them (how cute!). We kept walking until we reached the old graveyard of the Holy Trinity Church, which was lined with trees, shrubbery and pines and eventually led us to the entrance of the church. This was where we saw Shakespeare's grave and famous epitaph and chatted it up with one of the groundskeepers about how lovely the whole town was. We walked back down the river, sitting on the bank to watch several rowing races on the river that were going on all day, as it was the annual Avon Rowing Regatta, which has apparently been a staple of the town's culture since the late 1880's. We even took a chain or foot ferry ride across the river, which was a highlight of the trip, especially since it only cost 40 pence. We walked back through town, stopping at As You Like It, a cafe named after my favorite Shakespearean comedy, for a light lunch and headed back to the train station.

We are now rejuvenate by hot water and ceilings much higher than we are in our new hotel room, which offers me much comfort at this point. And now it's on to root on the US!!!