Roadtrip to Stratford-upon-Avon: Part 1

So a long long time ago our study abroad group went to Stratford-upon-Avon in a coach for three days, making pit-stops all along the way. So here is my overdue ode to my man Shakespeare.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1ST. DAY 36.
The night before we left I had gone to a concert so obviously I went to bed late and couldn't pack because my roommates were asleep...and then in the early hours of the morning my brain wasn't functioning properly so I packed poorly and forgot my camera...again. I don't really know what is wrong with me, but maybe if I got some sleep I could figure it out. I even packed the chargers and everything...I also brought my point and shoot camera but again thanks to Madam Tussad's it is still broken and won't work. Love my life. So I asked the ever wonderful Carolyn if I could put all of her pictures on my computer, which I did and so all the following pictures are either hers, amberly's, patrick's, or someone else's on facebook.

We met in our flat at 6:30am and boarded the coach. For some reason I was wide awake and couldn't sleep so while everyone was snoozing me and Amberly played the alphabet game (her ridiculous rules) but I still beat her. Hah. First stop was Coventry Cathedral, amazing place. It was bombed during WWII so the old part of it is pretty beat up, but they added a modern section of it and I loved the new addition. The stained glass and architecture was something I hadn't seen before and it was really interesting.

New portion

Old portion

there i am.

After that we went to Kenilworth Castle. Easily one of my favorite places in England so far. It was also bombed in WWII so it is mostly in ruins but I like it better that way because they let you explore it in peace. No stuffy audio or tour guides, no fake furniture or paintings to make it feel period appropriate, no herding huge groups of tourists, and definitely not boring. We climbed upon the rock walls, picnicked on hill overlooking the green fields, and then explored the gardens. 

me and amy 

amberly, preston, carolyn, me, patrick, and holly

me, preston, and holly

amberly and i

you can see me but i am really tiny

carolyn, lauren, me, holly, and preston

picnic

Next we went to Anne Hathaway's Cottage. Fun fact: Anne Hathaway was Shakespeare's wife and they had a quick marriage once she got pregnant. While there me and Amberly went cavorting around the orchard, maze, and gardens pretending we were witches to entertain ourselves...we are the youngest ones out of the whole group so we have to entertain ourselves in such ways every once in a while. In the end I beat her in the wizard's duel with a quick disarming spell and avada kedavra (i know it's harsh but it had to be done). After that I took a quick look about in the cottage and smelled the flowers with Carolyn.

This is my "I will thwart you maze" face.

this is kinda what the orchard looked like but better

carolyn, amy, me, and amberly

After that we went to Mary Arden's farm (Mary Arden was William Shakespeare's mother). We watched a falcon show thing. Then me and Amy went around the back parts of the farm and made animal noises...at the animals of course. Anyway, there was also this really cool tunnel made out of willow tree branches with mushroom stools inside. Definitely my favorite part of that place. 

me and amy

patrick, amy, camille, dezi, lauren, me and carolyn

And as if that wasn't enough to do in one day we hadn't even gotten to Stratford yet. We were all spread out amongst like four bed and breakfasts, so we pulled in to town, dropped off our bags, and ate some pub food before the show. I got steak and ale pie and it was really good. We then got treats and headed for the theatre to the Royal Shakespeare Company's version of "The Merchant of Venice". It was set in Las Vegas complete with elvis, gambling, game shows, and dumb blondes. It was interesting but they didn't really follow through with the concept all the way to the end so I didn't think it was a successful show. But one thing did make it worth it. Patrick Stewart was the actor for Shylock! He has starred in X-Men as Professor Xavier, and in Star Trek as Captain Jean Luc-Picard. Afterwards we waited outside the stage door and got his autograph. He was also pretty nice too. Here are some pictures Patrick snuck and took and in the last one you can see Sir Patrick Stewart!

you can barely see me on the side waiting for him to sign our stuff

Posts in Progress

Since the time of my last post, I have been sick, left London, and been to Italy for a week. My theatre study abroad is over and now I am on to other travels. Currently I am in Harrogate, England with my sister, her husband, and my two nephews. I will try to catch up on all my blog posts which should take a longggg time so be patient and wish me luck!

here they are: nate and spencer, the cutest kids you ever saw.

SICK SICK SICKKKKK

So, if you couldn't tell by the title of this post, I am sick. This is what happens when you travel and get no sleep because you stay up till 4am blogging every night. All for posterities sake I say. And for myself because I have a horrible memory. I sound like a man and can't breathe. So basically in the words of Zoolander: I have the black lung, Pop. So posting has been post-poned. har har get it??

MONDAY MORNING || Death Cab for Cutie

In honor of Death Cab for Cutie's newest album (Codes and Keys), and in honor of Monday, here is one of my favorite songs from the album: Monday Morning. And now I am done blogging for the night, and I have stayed up into the wee hours of monday morning blogging when I should be sleeping because I am sick. I am way behind on posting but there will be more to come soon! ENJOY.

DAY 35. The Beatles, Kent, & Fleet Foxes Concert

TUESDAY, MAY 31ST. DAY 35.
Once upon a time, a long long time ago, I had a wonderful day. It started out at 6:30 in the morning, too early. We ventured down to Abbey Road and once there we noticed that even though it was around 7:45am there was still a lot of traffic. It was tricky getting a picture of us all in sync on the cross walk while cars were waiting but eventually we did it. And they even have a camera set up to record every moment at that location so we went online and got some pictures there as well. It was pretty entertaining to go back and watch ourselves attempt to get a decent picture. Then we rushed off to the train stop to meet the whole group for a day in Kent.

We met with three older men at Kent and they took us on a walking tour throughout the beautiful countryside. And of course I forgot my camera for some reason, I don't even know. But I brought my point and shoot, but of course it still won't work since I dropped it at Madam Tussad's. Gosh I have bad luck. So almost all these pictures are Carolyn's. View her blog here. We frolicked through fields, picnicked by rivers, toured ancient Roman Villas, viewed castles, walked through grave yards, and sang hymns in a lovely old church. It was a beautiful wonderful day. We stopped by a little shop as well and I bought ginger beer, chocolate ice cream, and a double chocolate cake (for later on the train of course). However, the ginger beer was supposed to be non-alcoholic, and of course the one I picked up had .5% alcohol...or .05% I'm not entirely sure. But it was barely anything...like cough syrup right? So I drank it all. But being the rebellious people everyone are, about 10 people wanted to try it and see what it tasted like. Basically it was ginger ale but stronger, and it stung less on the way down than the regular ginger beer.

Next stop. Rest. I was so tired. Waking up early and then walking around all day in the sun is pretty tiring. So before the Fleet Foxes concert we came back, ate, and chilled in the kitchen while listening to Death Cab For Cutie's new album: Codes and Keys. It is so great. I love it. The concert at Hammersmith Apollo was amazing. Fleet Foxes are great live and the lead singer sounds exactly the same. They use so many instruments as well, it's crazy, I loved the beat of the drum especially. And they sang all my favorites. Ahhh yes. Standing for to hear them for a couple of hours was most definitely worth it. I took the videos for sound and Carolyn took the pictures.

Here are of the some videos I took, but you can't see anything, only sound.

Mykonos

Oliver James

Helplessness Blues (skip a little bit in)