European Vacation Day Six

Day Six, June 9th.
The next morning we had to move on down the road and bring our bags down with us for breakfast. As usual a continental breakfast with cereal, yogurt, toast and fruit recharged us so we could continue on with our journey. Our first stop on the day was in Shottery and to be more specific, Ann Hathaway's Cottage .

She was William Shakespeare's wife. The thatched roof cottage was cozy and quaint with all the usual contents of a some what well to do family of that time period. The flower garden was gorgeous but we were later informed that this wasn't original and that it was a working farm during that time and the garden would have most likely be a dirt and mud lot. We move to our next destination just in time to escape the crowds coming in from the tour buses. Next up, Stratford Upon Avon and the home in which Shakespeare was born.

The home started out small but had several additions over the years to accommodate his fathers business as a glover with a on site tannery and woolery. The home contained many nice items of the time. The somewhat lavish decor for a cottage suggested that his father was a successful business man. When we left the structure there were people dressed in period attire asking requests for favorite Shakespeare's lines for them to perform. There was a tree in the back yard that Shakespeare was to climb as a young boy but we found it had been cut down due to disease. We also went by the location of Shakespeare's newest house but unfortunately the home was destroyed by the owner sometime ago after being pestered by tourists. The lot is still empty.

After that we had free time to roam Stratford where we made our way down to the River Avon where the long boats where and also an open air craft fair. Needles and I spotted a Chinese noodle booth that was called the Hungry Dragon. We made our way through the thick crowd to get to the booth and order. Needles had the chicken and I had the special. We sat in the park and ate before making our way to the church where Shakespeare is buried.

The Holy Trinity Church is the location in which Shakespeare and his wife is entombed. We made our way back to The Jester statue near the bus parking to meet up with our group and continue on our way. Next stop was Oxford, UK home of Oxford College and about thirty other colleges.

We walked the streets on a tour with our guide Trevor and then was given free time to look around. Needles stepped into a local yarn shop called Darn It & Stitch but was unable to procure a local yarn as they were out. We made our way to the Cafe Bar Cafe where we were treated to quirky writings on the wall and good coffee and dessert of caramel shortbread.

We continued on to London and the Days Hotel in Hounslow, UK. When we arrived we were wondering where to get diner as it was one that we were on our own. Our guide suggested some Tia food but after a long walk stumbled upon a Taste of Lahore which was our first time for Indian food. I had the Chicken Chili Marsala, Needles had the Butter Chicken Marsala and we share a order of egg fried rice. We made our way back to the hotel with very full bellies. I think that several in our crowd wasn't impressed with the food but I thought it was nice to expand my food experiences and try something that we don't have at home.