Afternoon Tea

This morning we woke up to continental breakfast at the hotel. Last night I stayed up watching the British Food Network. There's a show called B*tchin' Kitchin, which was pretty funny to watch. We weren't sure whether or not breakfast was included in our package. We asked at the front desk and he didn't seem to completely understand but he told us it was. I had a chocolate twist with peach apricot yogurt and a coffee. Then we headed out on the town. First we headed toward Trinity Church. Vimto

We passed by the RSC and the back of Shakespeare's father's house. As we walked, we saw several actors leaving rehearsal for lunch.

We passed these rental boats. Each was named after a Shakespeare character. I think they probably should have left Ophelia out though. That doesn't seem like a safe boat.

Here is the gravesite of Shakespeare and his wife. His daughters and sons in law are also buried nearby. The statue in the corner was installed not too long after his death. On his grave you could still just barely make out the inscription so they have it copied on a plaque: "Good friend, for Jesus' sake forebeare, To digg the dust enclosed heare; Bleste be the man that spares thes stones, And curst be he that moves my bones."

This is the Hall's Croft, the former home of Shakespeare's daughter Susanna and her husband. We tried to go in the shop but they told us it was closed.

These are the gates to King Edward VI School. The bard attended this school growing up.

We found so many Shakespeare shops. We also came across a street market. It was like a giant garage sale. We found a booth that sold gourmet sausage rolls. At first I was skeptical because the first sausage rolls we tried were virtually flavorless. These were so very delicious. I had a Chinese barbecue roll, Tanner tried the chorizo, Liz had the mozzarella tomato pesto, and Amy tried the Jack Daniels BBQ. We almost had to go back for seconds. We stopped at a corner shop to get drinks. I got a blackcurrant raspberry soda called Vimto. It was very good.

Here is Shakespeare's Birthplace. The sheets of paper hanging outside are poems from a local children's competition inspired by on of the greatest poets of all time. 

Tanner and I stopped for Afternoon Tea at Hobson's Patisserie. They had case after case of incredible desserts and treats. Overwhelmed for choice, we went for the scones and clotted cream. It was all delicious.

One of our last stops before heading back to the hotel to get ready for the performance that evening. It was a china shop owned by a sweet older couple. Their son had designed all of the art on the china. He had also written a children's book called A Midsummer Mouse. His dad walked us through the whole story, picture by picture, showing off the work his son had done. It was very sweet.