Day #82

Will elaborate tomorrow, I swear. But sleep right now. Sleep is good. I am back safe and sound, and Stratford-Upon-Avon exceeded every expectation. A+.

Also, I'm much funnier when I have more energy. Stay tuned, avid readers.

*scrambles to come up with jokes for tomorrow* 

Sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeppppppp

UPDATE:

Okay, so my day today (actual day #83) was very busy, so this may still be a tad rushed so I can sleep again, but I have to get it down or else the boogy man will get me. Aka it will never happen. Let's hope for some sleepy humor!

Yesterday I got up a little before 9 and went down to clear things up with the managers, on account of booking the wrong night and all. They were great and did not make me pay any extra fees, so that alone would have gotten them an A+ review! But they went above and beyond by giving me a fabulous honest-to-goodness map on a real piece of paper that I could write on. I also got breakfast there and purchased some very discounted tickets for attractions in town. Armed with my map, a full stomach, tickets, and a heavy backpack (which actually didn't have that much in it, I'm not sure why it was so heavy), I caught the bus into town.

Wowza, is Stratford upon Avon gorgeous. Maybe it was the blue sky, maybe it was the canal running through the town, maybe the cobblestone streets or the Christmas decorations or the dozens of swans (yep, real swans) swimming alone peacefully... Take your pick. But boy, was it breathtaking.

I started at the Royal Shakespeare Company Theatre, which had original costumes from past productions on display. I was particularly interested in them since I worked in the costume shop at UMASS last semester and taught costuming to high schoolers over the summer. It was heaven and a half. Get a load of these fabrics, cuts, and designs:

I made some friends on the way to Trinity Church, which houses Shakespeare's grave.

(That's a picture of me and my friends, not Shakespeare's grave. Just to be clear. My syntax was a little misleading.)

Next I went to the first of three places included in my ticket: Hall's Croft. That's where Susana Shakespeare and her husband Dr. John Croft lived. They were super rich, which you could tell from their fireplaces, wooden beams showing in the walls, and REAL GLASS in the windows, even in the back of the house where nobody could see! Like, they paid to use glass for its actual use in addition to just showing off their wealth! See? Super rich.

There was also a painting in their house where some kid at a dinner table was giving a royal stink eye. We took a picture together to capture the tender moment.

THEN. Oh, friends.... The I found the costumes. Three cloaks with Shakespeare quotes on the inside. If I had money, I would spend it on those lovely things.

The poor:

The red cloak:

And the....black one:

I journeyed on to the second ticket place, Harvard House! The people working there were impressed that not only was I from the United States, but I was from Massachusetts! AND THERE WERE MORE COSTUMES. I really made use of the self-timer on my phone camera during this trip.

My snow boots really tied this look together, even though unfortunately they aren't pictured here.

There was a lot of lace going on.

"Help me, I'm poor" -college student

I went to the last ticket place, Shakespeare's birth place! There was a really incredible film detailing how Shakespeare is still so relevant in everything we do today, from tv shows to music to the words we use. I got to hear someone rap a soliloquy, which was SO COOL. Will and I took a nice picture together too

I wandered around after that, enjoying the adorable streets and the history they contained. There was another tree with a sweater (just like the one I saw in Cardiff!) and monument with beautifully detailed sculptures of Lady Macbeth, Falstaff, Prince Hal, and Hamlet. I did wonder why there were two characters from the King Henry IV plays, but there wasn't an explanation. I had an idea of where that thought was going when I started typing it (it was going to be really deep and philosophical, too), but I've lost it. Ah, well.

I caught my bus back to London at 6:35 and my bus from London to Canterbury at 10, before pulling into the Canterbury bus station a little before midnight. Over the past three weeks, I can't even count the number of podcasts I've devoured during these trips. Thank goodness from Stuff You Missed In History Class and Freakonomics. 

And that was yesterday- all's well that ends well. And it definitely did end well. Didn't some famous guy say that?