Date: 21 Feb 04 Adventures of Gamblegirl: Stratford Upon Avon "To free or not to freeze. Would I be cold by another name?" Sure I've probably just mangled one of Shakespeare's famous quotes with my little artistic license, but hey! First of all, I must make a massive apology. To Nadia and Lis - I AM SO SORRY!!! I had every intention of turning up to your birthday and farewell drinks on Friday. I'd finished work early for once and went home for a little kip - just to recharge the batteries 'cos me a tired gal (I don't know what's wrong with me but all I want to do is sleep and sometimes, it's really hard for me to get up - hmmm this is not good). Except when I woke up, it was dark and when I checked the time, it was 2:30am. So sorry, sorry, sorry. Second of all - my luck with trains continues. On the way to Stratford it took me 3 hours instead of 2 and that's with 2 bus changes. On the way home, it took me 5 and half hours. Freezing, tired and cranky all I wanted to do was go home. Mind you, I received some exciting news from my friends Nick and Sharleen so it made it all worthwhile. So back to my tale of my trip to Stratford Upon Avon (or SUA as I will refer to it). After a few failed attempts and just some general laziness from this girl, I finally managed to get my act together and get down to the birthplace of William Shakespeare, one of the greatest play writes. SUA is located in Warrickshire which is near Oxford and the Costwolds so naturally it's going to be stunningly beautiful. Everything is so green, old English style set up with their manicured lawns and stone cottages and babbling brooks twisting thru towns. It's all post card pretty and stunning to look at. SUA is equally at stunning with it's Tudor style houses (I don't know why but they make me think of playing cards), old quaint pubs, cobble stone paved roads, a pretty river and grassy green lawns. If I wasn't there, I'd say that it was something out of a British period movie. I find all these little towns to be quite charming and sweet. But I have a terrible confession to make. All I wanted to do was be at home, under the duvet by the heater. It was freezing. I'd layered up and for the first time, I got out my thermal leggings (well first time in England. I'd worn them in Berlin) and I was still cold. It's like the cold had penerated thru my layers and was bitterly biting at my skin. I had become a human ice block. It was so cold that my hands burned. Drum up a lot of enthusiasm - not!!! Yet this girl trudges on - teeth chattering and limbs freezing. SUA is incredibly easy to walk around, and I'd rather walk then take a bus because then you discover things that you can just stop and go hmmm what's that. The first place that I stopped off at was The Swan which is a theatre which has been built for the Royal Shakespearan company to preform Shakespeares plays but what caught my attention was the lovely river running beside it. Very pretty. Then it was on to another ABC - this time Holy Trinity Church which is where Shakespeare was burried. I have to say that I've done a few ABC's now and the Holy Trinity is lovely. Quite simple (which is a good thing because sometimes you wonder about why the cathedrals are so grand) with some of the loveliest stain glass windows (oh my god, I'm sounding like an old person now) that I have seen. Simple, but pretty. Sometimes you look at the windows and go hhmmmmm too overpowering but these had just the right balance (shoot me now I cant believe I'm discussing stain glass windows). Side note: Dear Kuiper clan, whilst you mock me for being height challenged, you giants you, the midget is laughing her head off over here. I love England for many reasons but one is that obviously once upon at time the people were short, hence why all the doors are rather low in height (I've even had to duck in a few). Every time I easily cruise thru a doorway or a tunnel, I have a smile to myself and think nah nah nah. I'd love to be seeing Geert, Gary or Shane try and get thru here. You'd be on your knees gents. I'm loving it, because suddenly being short is like a blessing, so each time I do, I smile and think of you lot. Anyway, then it was off to Anne Hathaways' Cottage (see postcard picture) who was Shakepeare's wife (although by the sounds of it, it was a marriage of convience for her). It's kinda freaky being in a house that's older then the country that I live in and is still in it's original structures. Again, being short was a benefit 'cos there were a couple of spots that I had to duck as well. Looking around the house, you get a sense of how things were sooo long ago and it's probably the best kind of history lesson you can get. It's one thing to read it in a book, but to stand there and see it, is something completely different. You get a sense of time and place and how things were done. I for one, am pleased with my modern day life because really it is a very hard life. Very cold and purpose driven. Then it was out to Featherbed Lane (which I caught the bus to because it's just out of SUA) and that was interesting to see how the old farms were. SUA was a farming town originally, it is interesting to see how things were set up and run. Going out there in the bus, I saw all the hedged lands, each one a different shade of green. To me they look like a patch work quilt. Not a single one looks the same and when you look down at them, it's quite striking. Then finally it was over to Windsor Street where Shakespeare's Birthplace is. That was kind of cool (it better be because it was bloody expensive to get in - tourist rip offerers!!!) but by that time I was sooo cold and tired that after that I made my way out to the train station. This is where all the fun and games started (and where I started to get a bit cranky). We had to catch a bus from SUA to one stop and then swap to catch a bus to Banbury where I could catch the train back to London. Which was okay, I can deal with that, on the way in. Except on the way out it became a nightmare. The next bus was coming in an hour and a half away which I'm like you are kidding right? So in an effort to help me out, the conductor said take the next bus that will go to Leamington Spa and then swap there, the two will connect up and you won't have any waiting time. Yeah well it would have worked if the bus driver didn't stop for a smoko. It was bad enough that I was listening to Christain pop (and woah is that bad), but I am getting a bit narky about him stopping for a smoko. Ended up missing my changing bus - it was pulling out as we were pulling in. Then I had to wait in the freezing cold for the next bus which was an hour away. Finally managed to get home, absolutely exhausted. Ah yes SAU - fun and games for this girl. Oh well it's done now and glad that I went. Gamblegirl