Stratford-Upon-Avon

Here are some photos, from Friday, of our day in Stratford-Upon-Avon.

The 1st picture is that of William Shakespeare's birthplace and where he grew up, and perhaps, spent the first little while after his marriage to Anne Hathaway. Shakespeare's father, John Shakespeare, was quite a successful glove maker and merchant but later got into financial trouble.

The 2nd photo is that of the classic thatched roof cottage of Anne Hathaway's childhood home. The third photo is the streets of Stratford-Upon-Avon. Many of the villages take on the descriptive hyphenated name of their surroundings... like Stratford (Upon Avon), which is along the Avon River. Yesterday we were in a village called "Bourton-on-the-Water", because there is a lovely (clean) shallow, but wide, canal running right through the middle of the village.

The 4th photo is that of Max, with Lana and two of her three girls (Rebecca on the left and Michelle on the right). We rented Max a wheelchair because he would not have been able to do all that walking. Actually, everyone (except me) took a turn in the chair sometime during the day! We had a lovely day meandering through the city, full of shops and restaurants, and touring the various buildings of interest.

Shakespeare was the third child of eight, and the first son. Click here to view a picture of Shakespeare's family tree. His first two siblings died before Shakespeare was born. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway who was 26 (and 3 months pregnant). They had 3 children, including twins. Shakespeare went to London shortly after their twins were born, and was a huge success within just a few years. He then moved back to Stratford, bought a big house, and lived the rest of his years there, writing prolificly.

As for what kind of foods the Brits eat... we haven't really experienced that much local food because we eat in mostly, or pack our lunch for our excursions. They do seem to eat a lot of meat pies (what we call small pot pies) and cheese. Last night we had the classic English fish and chips. Very yummy. Before we left Wenatchee we asked Lana what they wanted us to bring. They requested some things they can't get here, like: Lucky Charms cereal, Reese's peanut butter cups, fruit roll-ups, and Aplets and Cotlets. The other thing Rob has had to bring back from the U.S., after traveling on business, is Bisquick. There actually is a Costco somewhere around here. I have been to Starbucks, in the Solihull Mall, once and I have seen a Woolworths and McDonald's (of course).

Yesterday, Lana & Michelle and I, took an all day trip through the Cotwolds countryside... enjoying the view and toddling through some of the various villages. I love all the old buildings and will try to post some pictures and a little narrative later today, or tomorrow, on that.

TaTa for now,
Carol