Just a quick post because I was super tired last night and now we need to move quickly to check out of our hotel and get on the road! We had a great day in Stratford yesterday: saw Shakespeare's birthplace; the location and excavation of the house where he lived for the last 18-19 years of his life; the house owned by his son-in-law, Thomas Nash; and the house, Hall's Croft, where his oldest daughter and son-in-law lived for a number of years before moving into Shakespeare's old house upon his death in 1616. Long morning! Then we had a late, delicious, lunch at the White Swan Hotel and walked about a mile out of town to see Anne Hathaway's Cottage the the beautiful little garden out there. We did see the mural in the White Swan, Grandma and Grandpa, and it's pretty amazing that it's survived since 1550! It was quite pretty and in good condition - I guess since it was hidden within the walls of the hotel until a big renovation. Do you remember when that was? Our waiter told us and Mom and I think it was early 1900s...

After Anne Hathway's Cottage, we walked back to the hotel and relaxed for a little bit, then headed back out for dinner and the theater. We saw the Royal Shakespeare Company in their Courtyard Theater here. The space seemed a little bit makeshift and we think it's originally a smaller theater that maybe has been made larger since the real RSC theater is currently undergoing major renovation. That's just conjecture, though. Unfortunately, they weren't performing any Shakespeare but we did see the three-and-a-half hour long "Le Morte d'Arthur," a play developed from Sir Thomas Malory's work by a writer working for the RSC. The script was 10 years in the making! The play was wonderful. Of course, fairly sordid and a bit gruesome at times, true to the Arthurian legends, but the acting and staging were amazing! Mom and I really enjoyed it.

And now Mom is ready to head down to breakfast so I should shut down my computer. So anyway, a great day yesterday and now we are on the road again!