I will warn you: we are traveling so my Chromebook is in Belfast. That means I'm blogging via iPhone and sometimes the app doesn't want to cooperate.
Chicky Wicky was ready for another adventure!
Our super nice cab driver, who really likes history. We talked about The Revolutionary War and The Civil War.
The man sitting next to me on the plane was reading Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra and I knew it was playing in Stratford-upon-Avon so I asked if he's going. He treats himself each year to at least one play there and he reads the Royal Shakespeare Company edition of the play so he can read their footnotes. Tonight he sees Julius Caesar. Two nights of plays! How grand.
I will admit I wanted to go see both, but when I booked the trip I figured Vivian is still in the stage (heh) of liking the comedies and Romeo and Juliet.
England!
We arrived in Birmingham, disembarked from the plane; got on a shuttle bus from tarmac to main facility, then got on a shuttle to the train station, then took a train to New Street. Then we had to go a few blocks to the Moore Street Train Staion where we got the train to Stratford-upon-Avon.
Oh, no! We got
On the wrong train first! It was no biggie, but exciting to hop off the train as the doors were closing.
Then Viv was checking how far the station was. Well, Viv or Kelly Anne.
I definitely have a soft spot for Belfast. The people in Belfast are friendlier than any other place, including here. In Belfast, for example, when high school age kids see Vivian, they moderate their behavior and are more respectful because a kid is around. The schoolkids on the train from their stop to our shared stop were...potty mouthed, to say the least. So a school blazer with a crest might look fancy, but bad manners show through.
People here aren't as willing to give directions so I've relied on maps, which is fine, but I realize how much I enjoy striking up conversations with people in Belfast and making new friends.
Belfast: you're doing it right!
Viv followed Google maps a bit and we wound our way to town where this is:
We are staying at The Falcon Hotel, a 16th century inn. It's fine. Not great. Fine. There was still a used shampoo bottle in the shower and there's a dust bunny that might atack Chicky-Wicky, but we don't plan being in the room much.
We had dinner at The Garrick Inn:
I can't do links on the iPhone app. Sorry! I have to paste the whole link for you.
The building was fantastic!
I couldn't believe everything here! The place where Shakespeare grew up! Where he went to school! The church right by his house!
This is where his house was!!!!
This is Viv writing in a place Shakespeare would have been.
Vivi wanted to chill and mostly everything was closed at 5:00, so we came back to the hotel room and I told her she could watch some British tv. We were not disappointed.
Now I want to go to sleep so I can get up early and see EVERYTHING.
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