Stratford Upon Avon

My roommate Andrea and I went on a day trip to Stratford upon Avon and Oxford last Sunday! We got to Kings Cross station at about 7:30am, literally waited for the Starbucks to open (which did so about 6 minutes late), got our coffees and then waited to board the coach that would take us around for the day.

We started the tour in Stratford upon Avon at Anne Hathaway's house! Anne was the wife of a little old man named William Shakespeare. The house was where the Hathaways lived for multiple generations, including up into the 1900s. It was a very cute little cottage that truly felt like from the Shakespearean age.We were not allowed to take pictures inside the house, but Andrea and I, being the rebels we are, decided that it would be absolutely fine if we turned off the flashes on our cameras and took pictures that way. Oh wow, we were definitely excited for the day. This is the Hathaway's kitchen, I'm just chilling with the homemade scones. :)

Us in one of the main bedrooms! Right before we saw an information lady who probably would not have approved of this picture.

Isn't the cottage so picturesque?

We then went a little off the beaten path and walked through a small apple orchard near the cottage. All of the apples had already fallen from the trees, though.

There was also a serene little stream running through the gardens. It was just a really cool sight.

We then went into the town of Statford upon Avon for some lunch and a little sight-seeing.

The town had already decorated for Christmas! It was so nice to see. Quite a few places in London started decorating for Christmas before Halloween, but once it turned December, everywhere seemed to have at least one Christmas tree and lights.

We went out to lunch at a little restaurant within the village, and then went to scope out the birthplace of William Shakespeare!

See?

I was invited inside! Ok, Willy, I'll come watch a play.

The house had a little addition put onto it by the extended Shakespeare family, but was primarily the same way that Shakespeare had it when he lived there.

So cool!

Stratford upon Avon definitely left a cool impression on us! We loved seeing the river and all of the old buildings. There were thatched houses and just really cool architecture everywhere. The place held so much history and so many theatres, but was still people's town where they went shopping. It was really cool to see the contrasts in buildings and the stores that occupied them - this is the same in London, too. I really need to take a picture of the Starbucks nearest me because it is in this really beautiful, old building that you would not expect a Starbucks to be occupying!