Once in Stratford, I checked into my cute bed and breakfast. I arrived later than most people, so I didn't have time to join the group for dinner. I walked around the town for a little bit and made my way over to the Royal Shakespeare Theater for a performance of Antony and Cleopatra where I met the rest of my classmates. I was so impressed with the performance! Except the actor who played Antony looked exactly like my old boss at Buffalo Brewing Company which was weird. The play lasted nearly four hours, so we all needed to go back to the bed and breakfast to get some rest for the next day.
Swan Theater before the performance of Antony and Cleopatra.
The Royal Shakespeare Theater on River Avon.
The next morning, I had a traditional English breakfast which consisted of beans, eggs, bacon, tomatoes, and sausage. Then we left to see a production of The Tempest which was designed for children. Naturally, it was my favorite performance of the weekend. There were so many cute kids there with their families that were all dressed up for the show! The actors were really funny and they used puppets for some of the characters for a really cool interpretation of the play.
The Swan Theatre before the Tempest.
After the play, we went the Holy Church of Trinity to see Shakespeare's grave. We also saw Shakespeare's birthplace, Hall's Croft, and the site of the house that he died in (called New Place). It was torn down over 200 years ago but there is an archaeological dig where you can still see the original foundation and a beautiful garden.
Inside the church
Shake's grave
Outside Hall's Croft with Martina.
Playing in the garden! The weather was unusually sunny.
We also had some free time to get lunch and do some shopping. I had a burger and some cider with my friends Martina and Colin at an English pub. It was the best burger I have had in a long time. I also had some fish and chips for dinner. It wasn't as good as Fitz's, but still yummy.
That night, we saw one more performance in the Royal Shakespeare Theater. The performance of King Lear was very elaborate. During the scenes where there was a storm, it was actually raining on stage. My favorite part of the performance came at the end of the play, when a huge light came down from the ceiling for a very elaborate spotlight on the main characters (who were all dead) and lots of flashing lights. All of the characters who were in King Lear were in Antony and Cleopatra, too. I can't imagine how difficult it would be to memorize all of those lines and play such different roles!
My favorite part of the weekend came after the performance, when we bumped into the cast of The Tempest at a pub that was down the street from a bed and breakfast! We chatted with them for over an hour and got to hear about all of the behind the scenes stuff.
So typical, but still, it had to be done.
Choosing our wands at a magic shop!
Me and Martina enjoying our Irish dinner!
I basically spent all of Sunday making my way back to Madrid. I had a layover in Paris this time and two other girls from my class were on my flight. I am so excited to return to England next weekend with Liz and Anna to explore London! I'm also really excited to see my friend Kelly from dance. She is studying there this semester and is excited to show us some cool things. I am thankful that I am going to England two weekends, because one weekend was definitely not long enough for me.
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