Stratford-Upon-Avon

Stratford is one of the loveliest places I have ever been to! We are staying at the Falcon Inn, which is a quaint little hotel near the center of the town. There are great shops, restaurants, and wonderful entertainment. Not only is this town full of wonderful things to keep us busy, but it was also William Shakespeare's home! We spent time on Thursday touring his home and his wife, Anne Hathaway's family home. I especially enjoyed learning about the idioms we use nowadays. We learned that many of them came about during the time of Shakespeare. For example, when using a oven to bake bread they would put it in and take it out using a wooden paddle type utensil. Therefore, the bottom of the bread would generally be burnt and have splinters in it. The help and children generally got this and the head of the household got the top of the bread (the warm flaky crust) hence the term "Upper Crust". My personal favorite is instead of the box springs and mattresses we use now they used rope to sleep on. Every night they had to tighten the ropes, hence the term "Good night, sleep tight". By far, my favorite thing we have done thus far was visiting Warwick Castle. We climbed up to the towers and toured the castle. We also climbed up a hill on the side of the castle and saw the most beautiful gardens and the English countryside. It was exquisite. We also went on a tour titled, "Royal Weekend Party". It was really interesting because it was as though you were a guest at a party hosted by the Earl and Countess of Warwick where Winston Churchill and others were in attendance. It was interesting touring their home and hearing their stories! Today, we visited St. Margaret's church where Florence Nightingale is buried. We also visited Embry, Florence Nightingale's childhood home. It is now a preparatory school named Hampshire Collegiate School which is both a day and boarding school. Her family home was absolutely beautiful, we found out that the best time to visit is during the spring because they have a lovely flower display. I am looking forward to heading to London tomorrow via Stonehenge and Bath. Cheers!