STRATFORD UPON AVON

Friday, October 28, 2011 Written in York and posted next day…

Awake about 6 am…decided to get out my computer about 7 since I wasn’t going back to sleep. Looks like we’re going to have a nice, but cold, day today! No rain predicted!!!

Ate breakfast in our rooms from food we’d purchased yesterday and the day before. By 9:30 am we’d arranged for Barbara to stay in her room until 2 pm while Nancy and I went to see the historical Shakespeare houses. First on the tour was his parent’s home and birthplace…within a block of our hotel.

The weather is dry and cold this morning but foggy as you’ll see in the photos. It gave an eerie effect to the garden; perfect for Halloween! We then walked to the Nash house, his oldest daughter’s home. We spent most of the time there in the gardens which are extensive and beautiful. Over the last few years they have put in a sculpture trail by Greg Wyatt in the gardens. Each statue is based on a Shakespeare character; they are very unique rock sculptures and sometimes it was difficult to find the face.

Then we walked on to the Holy Trinity Church where Shakespeare and his family are buried. He was baptized there but they’re not sure that he was married in this church.

Back towards the hotel we then went to the Hall House that belonged to his younger daughter. This house was much grander and had lots of furnishings. Outside we found another beautiful garden and the “dig” on the lot that was the site of the final home of Shakespeare. It was torn down by an owner who didn’t like Shakespeare.

We went back to the hotel and found that Barbara had gone to the hairdressers around the corner to get her hair down and then shopping at the stores near the Hotel. We all three then went to the weekly market across the street from the hotel and found wooden door stops that we all purchased for home. Finally about 2 pm we went to the Deli Café next door to the hotel for lunch. It was a little after 2:30 pm by the time we loaded the car and headed down the carriageway for York for our next adventure.

Traffic was a bear but then it was Friday afternoon and the kids are still on winter break. Our three hour estimated drive turned into a five plus hour drive. The signs on the highway that give traffic information kept saying that there were “Queues’” ahead indicating that there were lines of traffic and we’d be moving at less than thirty miles per hour. At times we were inching along the highway. We stopped at a service area for gas and to use the loos! Yes, we finally found that name on the doors to the toilets!

Arrived in York just after 8 pm…then the hunt began for a place to stay. The town is packed with all sorts of special events happening in the city. We’d stopped at five different places and they’d made calls for us without any luck. We were headed out of town and suddenly spotted a vacancy sign on a B&B. For 110 pounds including breakfast we have a family room in the attic! Beautiful full bathroom with a stall shower plus a tub. There are three single beds and a king but we’re each using a single bed.

There is a very nice television but all we could find was "not for children or old ladies"; finally had to get the clerk to come up and help us find the news channels. He didn't understand what we found objectionable about the show we had!!!

They have wifi but for some reason I’m not able to connect…something about the certificate so won’t be able to send this until tomorrow. We used the cell phones to call the husbands to let them know that we’d arrived in York. We’re at Clifton Bridge B&B. A ten minute walk to the town center along the riverside but I think we’ll probably drive into the center to visit everything tomorrow.