Saturday, May 23, 2009

Ah me....

What an incredible weeked - and it's only Saturday!

 

Last night Tony & I headed out to Warwick, to visit some friends. We went out for dinner at an Indian restaurant & had some great food & very wonderful company. A lot of laughs were had.

 

And today...Tony went out to do his thing with friend, Andy. And I went to Stratford-Upon-Avon. That's right, William Shakespeare's birthplace & where he spent most of his days. Had breakfast at a little cafe. And then I went into a few tourist shops & then caught a bus tour. It was a double decker, open top bus. Went to 3 Shakespeare houses. There are 5 in total, but I was worried about time. So I went to Ann Hathaway's Cottage (William's wife), and it was a lovely thatched roof cottage. Beautiful gardens, I wasn't able to take pictures inside, but learned a lot! I saw everything there was to see there. Then hopped onto the bus & went to Mary Arden's House & Countryside Museum (William's mother's family home). This was quite the thing. It is a functioning Tudor farm! So everyone there was in old style dress. There were farm animals, cooking over open fire hearths, etc etc. So cool. And there were falconry displays, archery displays, maypole dancing. A lot to take in! The third place was Shakepeare's Birthplace & the home he spent his early years in. I learned so much about his life & his family. I wasn't able to take pictures inside of this one either. But learned that his father was a glove maker & saw the shop. Saw all of the things donated in his memory from other famous individuals. As well as signatures & remembrances written by some of those same people. The room he was born in... I did miss out on the house he finished life in, as well as his burial plot etc. But maybe I will get back there. The town was great & the day was sunny & warm. I was definitely feeling the romance of the place.

 

I hopped a bus back to Warwick & then after taking a look downtown - and finding a quite nice woolshop!!! I went to Warwick Castle. HOLY MOLY! It was really big, a lot bigger than Lincoln. And now that the season has started it has A LOT going on!! I got to check out the gaol, there was a walk through the castle called the Kingmaker - which is basically all the steps involved in getting ready for battle. Pretty incredible set up they have. I only had 2 hours at the castle so I didn' get to see everything. But there used to be a moat. There is a water mill generating power. There was a wall walk that was way more intense than Lincoln - 533 steps up to the top. WHEW! There were archers, sword play, jousting, a trebuchet that they shot a fire ball across the yard with!!! There was a guy on stilts, a Ballista to check out, a rose garden, a play area for children, a Peacock garden - SO MANY THINGS! And I did not get to see them all, but it was awesome!! I LOVE castles

 

AND --- it was SO warm I was wishing I was wearing shorts!! Isn't that a CRAZY thing! LOL

 

So, beauty, romance, adventure, history, sunshine - the only thing that made it a little bittersweet, I had no one to share it with. I love Him, but it's just not the same, you know

 

It's only Saturday evening & there is still Sunday & Monday because it's another Bank Holiday weekend! What more could there be!!!???

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