As you like it (I like it quite a lot!)

These last 2 days have been very long and busy days!

Monday, we had class and then left for Stratford-upon-Avon.  It was the first sunny day since we've been here.  It was beautiful!  The bus stopped in a cute little town, Chipping Norton for lunch (which, incidentally was the wrong town.  We were supposed to stop in Chipping Camden).  It was a quaint town with really good food.  I enjoyed a bakewell tart, which to my best understanding, has raspberry jam on the bottom and some kind of egg/almond top.  It was absolutely delicious!  We also had fun window shopping at various small shops on the road.

As we continued driving to Stratford, I fell in love with the English countryside.  It was gorgeous!  I love it much more than I love London.  Although these pictures cannot fully capture it, here's some pictures that might help explain why I love it so much:

After we arrived in the Stratford area, we visited Anne Hathaway's house, Shakespeare's birthplace, and Trinity church (where Shakespeare was christened and is buried).  All the houses were lovely, especially Anne Hathaway's gardens.  It was really cool to be in places that Shakespeare and his family walked and lived.  I also learned cool things like how Elizabethan people cleaned out chimneys using chickens and the origin of the word curfew.

Anne Hathaway's Cottage

Where Shakespeare was born

That night, we also had the opportunity to watch RSC's production of 12th Night.  Overall, I really enjoyed the play.  The Malvolio in particular did a fantastic job.

Yesterday, we went to Hampton Court, one of the royal residences and the favorite of King Henry VIII. I really enjoyed it!  It was cool to see medieval kitchens, William and Anne's apartments, King Henry VIIIs section of the palace, eat in a room that's older than our country, and walk around beautiful gardens.  It was absolutely lovely (and a beautiful day which made it so much better)!  My photo uploader's having problems right now, but I'll try to post some later.

Along with the beauty of the place, I was struck by an idea less beautiful.  While the king and his court lived in opulence, the people around him lived in squalor and filth.  It's a sad juxtaposition.  Then I realized that still happens today.  It was rather a sad contemplation after viewing such a beautiful place.

That night, I went on one of my assigned walks around London in an area called Little Venice.  It was beautiful!  There were canals with house boats and ferries on them.  It was quite different from other parts of the city I've been in and I quite enjoyed it.