Stratford-upon-Avon and its Goodies

Why I love England
Reason #31: Shakespeare.

Stratford-upon-Avon is his birthplace, and we were able to catch two plays there, one really modern adaptation of As You Like It and another called The Empress, the latter not having much to do with Shakespeare and the former being really, really entertaining.

Stratford is a quaint little country town that plays up the fact that Shakespeare was born, lived, and died there. It's a nice town that bustles with tourists (mostly students), expensive rates, and lots of souvenir shops, the latter two having to do with the first.

Now on with the pictures, I say (and you're probably thinking):

The old style of houses.

Left: Anne Hathaway (wife of W.S.),
Right: Shakespeare's grave

Memorial of Shakespeare

Upon the River Avon

The river's lovely, really. 

Shakespeare Memorial

Shakespeare's birthplace

The Royal Shakespeare Theatre

So yes, Shakespeare is awesome, the river is beautiful, and the Royal Shakespeare Company was absolutely amazing in their production of As You Like It. I'm not a big fan of the play myself, but the way the play was performed was enough to convince me that I loved it even if I, well, don't in real life. The production was set in the present time and all the actors wore very modern clothing with lots of plaid shirts and sweaters. The music was very English indie/folk with a tinge of an older, ancient world to it that really set the mood and tone for the entire play. The musician, Laura Marling, plays really well and has a very lovely voice. 

As for the actors, Rosalind was played by a lovely actress, Pippa Nixon, that a lot of the women in the program fell in love with when she came out again dressed as Ganymede. Everyone fell in love with Orlando, played by Alex Waldmann, and his silliness, his gentle naivety, and his passion for Rosalind. Those two and everyone else in the production executed the Shakespearean language so well, and with their body language and blocking along with their facial expressions and modern clothing, I could understand every bit of what was going on and what the funny and serious bits were. After watching such a well done modern adaptation of Shakespeare, I don't think I could even read the play the same afterwards. It made reading the play itself rather boring. 

Besides the plays and apart from Shakespeare altogether, I was led to find a cute little shop/cafe on the popular tourist street. It's tucked into the row of shops, but it has a small swinging sign that reads, "The Creaky Cauldron." And just as the sign leads one to think, once you enter you are welcomed to the magical world, a tiny oasis for magic lovers and for those who are a little overwhelmed by the world of Shakespeare. Once you make your way past the man at the counter, you enter the magic shop with tons of games, magic dust, wands, etc. It's small, but full and wonderful. Through the magic shop, there is a cafe where they serve sweet cakes and other treats along with butterbeer, pumpkin juice, or just plain coffee. And past that (yes, this place extends quite deep), there is a tight sitting area. I had to get the butterbeer and it didn't disappoint a new butterbeer drinker. I won't tell what it tasted like, but I do hope to try other kinds and see how they compare. 

There is also an upper level that you have to pay to get into, but there is a treasure hunt-like game that you play as you go through and you get to peruse through the shelves full of magical objects and the rooms that get a little creepier the further you go. There was so much integration of the magical world with British history (including the claim that William Shakespeare was a great wizard) that I could almost believe it all, even if some other claims were a bit silly. At the very least, it was all entertaining and I, as an avid Harry Potter fan, did enjoy it. I just can't WAIT to go to the Harry Potter Warner Bros. Studio Tour.

Why I Love England
Reason #32: Harry Potter references

Butterbeer!

The Sorting Hat (borrowed from Hogwarts)

Officially a witch of Henley Street

I did go to other places, like Greenwich! Greenwich is also a really lovely town and the prime meridian is there, but we only took a day trip there to mainly visit the National Maritime Museum. It's a nice coastal town, but so far all of the cities I've visited have been near some source of water. It's nice to know water isn't scarce on this island.

Why I Love England 

Reason #33: Water is EVERYWHERE. And it's beautiful.