Stratford-Upon-Avon...Arantxa's Mecca!

I've been to England once before (with Bernadette and Melissa) and I was heart-broken that I couldn't get in all my nerdy English teacher tourist needs.  Well this time, I'm able to get it done!  On our way back to London from Edinburgh, we stopped in Stratford-Upon Avon.  Obviously, it's most famous as the birthplace of William Shakespeare, but it is such a beautiful little city.  Even a non Shakespeare fan would enjoy this place.  It has beautiful parks, cute cafes, lots of shopping and plenty of easy parking!

Unfortunately, we only had a couple of hours to spend there, but we got to check out Shakespeare's childhood home.  They have a great exhibit there.  It starts off with video about his life and the video takes you through all these different rooms that are decorated to look like Elizabethan England and that contain different artifacts related to Shakespeare.  Then you get to go through his house.  It's pretty neat.  I took lots of photos and video but I think most people will find it boring.

After touring his house, we walked over to Holy Trinity Church where he is burried.  The church was beautiful and dates pack to 1210!  His grave is quite modest and it's next to his wife Anne Hathaway and some of his other family members.

I of course bought tons of souvenirs. Mostly things that I'll put up in my classroom and some gifts for my fellow nerdy English teachers! We would have loved to stay longer, but unfortunately we had to return our rental car and had a tour already scheduled out of London for the next day. Oh well...if we ever find ourselves back in England, we'll definitely spend at least a couple of days in Stratford!

A view of Shakespeare's birthplace from the back garden.

In front of Shakespeare's birthplace.

The grave of William Shakespeare.