Stratford-upon-Avon

This past weekend was my last trip during my semester abroad.

My Shakespeare class professor decided to take us to Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of William Shakespeare. We were all really excited (partially because the school paid for our tickets and all the entrance fees to things). But for me, it was really special for a different reason.

During my first trip to London, the first place we went after getting off the plane was Stratford-upon-Avon. That was the first place I had ever been in the country. It was the start of my fantastic journey's through all London and England have to offer. A bit of nostalgia hit when I went back.

We had to wake up very early to get there. It was a day trip so our train left a little before 9am so we could have a full day. Once we got there, we got to see all of the different shakespeare trust properties including his birth place, his other houses and where he is buried. All that time, we were walking through this beautiful town.

It was weird because it looked a lot different than I remembered. I can't figure out if that was because we just didn't go to the areas we went to this time or if the place really changed. It still had the "old town" feel, but it seemed different. That being said, last time I was there we spent almost all of our time at the RSC theatre. (Royal Shakespeare Company) We didn't get to see any shows there this time because there were only children's shows playing. I felt bad for everyone else because their work was amazing last time I saw it.

We ended the day with tea at a place called The Fourteas. It was designed to look like a 40s style tea house. Kind of cool. And the tea was delicious.

The only bad part to the day was getting home. When we got back to Marylebone Station, some of us decided to take a bus back because it was direct. We waited for about 20mins, and the bus never came. We finally just decided to take the tube. Got on. Made our 1st connection. And then we got to Canada Water to switch to the London Overground. Got on the train....and it broke. Everyone had to get off so they could take the train out of service. We waited for a while, thinking it wouldn't take long...but it did. So we got back on the tube, went to London Bridge, and had to get a national rail train one stop to New Cross Gate. From New Cross Gate to Stratford-upon-Avon it took about 2hrs 30mins. On the way back...it took almost 4 hours. Not fun.

I can't believe that this is the last trip on this semester journey. But like I said, I don't think I could have picked a better place to end.