Our great Thanksgiving adventure 2016 began in Manchester, as we flew there out of Nuremberg and landed in the late afternoon on Wednesday. It was our first time flying RyanAir!
You know we love family selfies on various modes of transportation.
RyanAir is very minimalistic but they had good snacks and the flight was smooth. I had my Baby Makers and all was well.
Now that's a beautiful sunset!
When we landed in Manchester, no one told us that as Americans, we had to fill out some special form for each member of the family. So we waited in line, only to have a guy tell us this. (For the record, the Brits are super nice!) So he pointed to a dark corner of the room where a table and podium stood. We had to find the little cards, which were hidden in the podium. It was all very strange. Thankfully, one of Todd's coworkers and his family was on our flight (on their way to Dublin) so we all shared pens, because there were none on the table. Whew! (Note to self for next trip: bring plenty of pens, and remember that form!)
We made it to our hotel, the Falcon late in the evening. It was in a great location - right in downtown Stratford Upon Avon!
The hotel was right across the street from New Place, Shakespeare's last residence in Stratford. But wait. What is that, you say? You're saying there's no house here? You're right. It was originally built in 1483 by the Clopton family. It was eventually sold, and Shakespeare lived here from 1597 until his death in 1616. After the home was passed down to Shakespeare's daughter and granddaughter, it was then sold back to the Clopton family. It was owned by the Clopton family until the early to mid 1700s, when then-owner Reverend Francis Gastrell lived there and must have had a beef with Shakespeare. He first chopped down a Mulberry bush that Shakespeare supposedly planted. The townsfolk got upset and smashed the windows of the home. Then Gastrell applied for a permit to extend the garden, and the town rejected it! Instead, they raised his taxes and out of spite, Gastrell had the house torn down. One of the most interesting things found in the eventual excavations was cannabis in the pipes on the property. It's difficult to tell whether Shakespeare might have used cannabis though, since so many people had lived there before and after him.
It was cool enough for meat to be sitting around outside of the butchery, unchilled by ice.
On the side of this bank building, you can faintly see the words, "God Save the King!"
Looking down Church Street in Stratford Upon Avon. The town was getting ready for the turning on of the Christmas lights!
It's kind of weird to me now when I see an American flag flying! We totally did a double take when we saw this!
Downtown Stratford Upon Avon, looking toward the light tree.
Signs for tourists like us.
There was a little shop on the street where Shakespeare was born that had these funny little sayings carved into the stone outside. This one was my favorite. "It's too weird for me." Reminds me of Lazlo Hollyfeld in Real Genius. "It's getting pretty weird around here."
Like how I can transition from a classic movie such as Real Genius (!!!) to Shakespeare? Shakespeare was thought to have been born in this house. There's no actual proof of course, but the Shakespeare family lived here at the time and babies were typically born at home.
Well you're reading my blog, so that's a good start.
What the what? Homer Simpson reading Shakespeare. I've seen it all now!
Incredibly, this is one of Shakespeare's "First Folios." The sign says that in 1623, about 750-1000 of "Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Tragedies and Histories" were published. Each was printed BY HAND, and a bound copy cost one pound (which was a LOT of money at the time). Today about 230 of the original First Folio's are still around, this being one of them.
After you see a little museum, you get to tour the house. The garden area was really pretty, even though it is late fall.
Wait. You're letting THEM in Shakespeare's childhood home!?!
As soon as we walked in, Grant had to go to the bathroom. So Todd had to leave with him while Natalie and I waited in a room that was an addition to the original home. This room (which was probably 12x12 at best) and the one above it were the house that Shakespeare and his wife first lived in after their marriage. It was similar to how an in-law suite would be today. Natalie was enjoying the modern day portable heater that sat nearby!
The first room of the house you see is the parlor. This is where the guests would sleep. You always saved the best bed in the house for guests! The flooring in this room is original! These are the very floors Shakespeare would have walked on.
Mmmm. Time for some grub. This is the dining area, where the Shakespeare family would have ate the main meal of the day (lunch) after William returned home from school (which started at 6 am... I don't want to hear anymore whining from my kids about how early school starts!) An interesting note: "Sumptuary laws" told citizens how they could dress and how many courses they could eat in a meal based on their social status! The Shakespeare's were middle class, so they would have enjoyed two courses, of which each would include several shared dishes.
Moving on, you come to Shakespeare's father's workshop. He was a glove maker! This is a hands on, touchy-feely room where you could try on different gloves and feel the types of animals that would have been used.
Apparently Mr. Shakespeare was very into Star Trek.
Next, you go upstairs to the bedrooms.
The first room is the boys room. The boy, despite his age, would have the room with the fireplace. The only thing I thought was kind of cheesy about this place were the fabric wall hangings designed to look like wallpaper in the late 1500s. Kind of silly. Notice the propped up pillows? In Tudor times, people slept sitting up. It was thought that if you laid down to sleep, the devil would think you were dead and would come and take your spirit.
Next door is the girl's room. No fireplace, but it did seem bigger! There is a neat window with the autographs of many pilgrims who had etched their names in the glass. This had originally been in the birth room, but was moved. Interestingly, Charles Dickens spearheaded the movement to get this house turned into a national monument.
Natalie wasn't too upset that Grant would have had the fireplace. Shakespeare slept here with his two brothers.
The lady let Grant try on some of the "clothes of Shakespeare's day." He seems incredibly uncomfortable here, but he thought it was pretty funny!
There was also a little table with a few different types of toys that Shakespeare might have played with as a small child.
The last room was the birth room! Technically it was the parents bedroom, but back in the day, you gave birth at home.
Up until the age of 5, Shakespeare would have slept in this room with his parents. The trundle that comes out has rope for support. The lady explained that this is where the term, "Good night, sleep tight" comes from. You would have to wind up the rope to give more support so that you didn't wind up on the ground by morning! (Sounds kind of like our air mattress when we go camping!)
Shakespeare's parent's bed. We laughed because there is NO WAY Todd would have fit on this bed. The metal piece in the middle of the bed is where at the end of the evening, you would put the hot ashes from the fireplace.
I married someone tall. Who clearly doesn't fit in Shakespeare's childhood home.
In fact, I barely fit in this house in certain spots! The performers in this room acted out scenes from Shakespeare's plays. She thought we looked really funny coming through the doorway and wanted to take our picture!
"All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts, His acts being seven ages." - William Shakespeare, As You Like It
But not fake ale, of course. I'll have six, please.
What did you have for lunch on Thanksgiving? Why, Indian food, of course! Tikka Masala, basmati rice, naan bread, saag aloo, poppadums, onion bhajis (these remind me of conch fritters!) and raita.
Are they ever normal!?
After lunch, we wanted to head over to Hall's Croft, the home of Shakespeare's daughter Susanna and her husband Dr. John Croft) and the Holy Trinity Church, where Shakespeare is buried. What a cute town!
Ahhhh. Good to know.
The family at Hall's Croft.
Much like Shakespeare's childhood home, Hall's Croft is set up with period displays and furniture.
Low ceilings, big old fireplaces, and cold, slab floors.
Hall's Croft has a little game for children where they have to locate a bunch of little stuffed animal mice. I love the half timber here.
Ok don't judge. I have a weird obsession with fake food. I loved this kitchen room and it's fake little apples! Grant is trying to figure out how one would might splay and roast a pig on the spit.
"Guys, do you know what this is?" Immediate answer from both: "A potty!" Boy, do they know their Tudor toilets! Side note: Natalie really liked the few Tudor style dresses they had at Hall's Croft. She claimed she was seeking inspiration for some fashion designing.
Were people really this short back then? I guess so! Here is one of the bedrooms at Hall's Croft.
Please mind your head, oh tall and bearded one.
The next stop was the Holy Trinity Church. Somewhat opposite of what is going on in Germany, the leaves are still changing on some of the trees in England!
OK, so all of the leaves have already fallen here at the entrance to the Holy Trinity Church! All of the trees were wrapped in crocheted blankets and money was being raised to help poor women in South Africa to supplement their income (The few that you see that aren't were wrapped by the time we left).
Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-Upon-Avon.
Now come on guys, this is getting ridiculous. He literally had to bend at the waist to get into this church!
You have to pay a small fee to get back to the place where Shakespeare was baptized and buried. This is the font that was used for Shakespeare's (and many others!) baptism.
The Burial Act in England says that people can't be buried IN churches anymore. (We learned this at the Liverpool Cathedral later in our trip). But Shakespeare and his family are buried right here in the church, as it was done in the 1600s. (I believe Westminster in London has an exception to this rule).
The graves of Shakespeare and his family by the alter. This is an Anglican church, of course. Note the bust of Shakespare in the upper left. This was thought to be a very accurate representation of Shakespeare since it was carved in a time after his death when people who actually knew him were still alive and could help with descriptions. Many think his granddaughter, Elizabeth Barnard had a hand in it.
Natalie loves trying on fun period clothing!
Looking toward the front of the Holy Trinity Church. The people who worked there were so sweet! Seriously, everyone in England was so nice!
I did not intend for Grant to be the focus of this picture! The knocker here on the front door of the Holy Trinity Church has been around since around 1500. The story goes like this: If an accused criminal used the knocker, they could claim freedom from prosecution for 37 days. The attorney finds this funny!
No one in my family (gasp!) has ever had tea and scones with clotted creme and jam. I had to give them an education. The kids weren't big fans. They said the scones were "spicy."
I, on the other hand, thought my scones and tea were scrumptious! I'm still dreaming of it!
Since the Christmas lighting ceremony was happening that evening, they blocked off many of the roads and people could walk freely in the middle of the street. This included Santa and his elf on stilts. We didn't stay for the lighting because we wanted to get to Warwick before dark (didn't happen since the sun set at 4:02).
We made the half hour drive to Warwick Castle and checked into our cabin on the castle property. SO MUCH FUN!!!! The cabins were awesome and you got tickets to the castle for that day and the next day, a cabin to sleep in AND breakfast! The cabins were totally decked out in medieval themes. It was really cute, if you've got kids.
Bunk beds? Yes please! Natalie was sweet enough to give her brother the top bunk!
The wall opposite the bunk bed had a fun tapestry (new, not an old one) with scenes from Warwick Castle's history. Ummmm, hello??? Boy, stinks to be this guy! (And the guy above him!)
What? You are going to have roast beef and Yorkshire pudding and onion rings and French fries and corn on the cob and many other things for Thanksgiving dinner!? Yes. Yes we are. Even Natalie seems perplexed by the idea!
We had ideas to go into town to get some dinner, but thought otherwise when we realized it was the evening of the tree lighting, and a Friday night. It's really hard to walk into a restaurant and get a seat on any Friday night in Europe. You either have to go at 5 pm or have a reservation. So instead, we just ate at the castle. The food wasn't bad!
Don't worry. We ate an actual American Thanksgiving dinner the Sunday before our trip! Turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, noodles (like my Memo and Aunt Patti used to make!), cranberry sauce, broccoli casserole and rolls with butter! Mmmmm!
During dinner, these two awesome guys came in for some knight training with swords. Sir Louis and Sir Jay taught the kids the eight positions (or guards) of the sword.
Poor Grant struggled because he was left handed and everyone else was right handed! These guys were incredibly patient with these three little kids though.
After their training, the children were knighted. Natalie and Emily became Lady Natalie and Lady Emily. Grant became Sir Grant until the end of our time at Warwick Castle. These guys made my kids name sound so regal. I only want to say "Natalie" and "Grant" with a British accent from now on.
Movement is still something I'm working on with my camera. Sir Louis and Sir Jay did a very cool (and very real, although I'm sure it was scripted) dual for us all! They were really hitting each other hard!
Then they posed for some pictures with the kids. How cute are they?!
Oh my goodness, it's a mini blond Kramer! I can't even get over the cuteness!
After some Thanksgiving FaceTiming with our families and a good night sleep in our fantastic cabin, we woke to a beautiful sunny day! But it was time to get some breakfast and head off to see the castle.
The grounds were so beautiful behind our cabin with a very pretty view of the Avon River.
Dad! Spaghetti O's for breakfast! (And before you ask... no, I did not eat any and neither did any member of my family!)
The walkways under the trees were so pretty in the morning sunlight as we walked to the castle.
We had a special entrance and a lovely walk to the castle.
We were obsessed with these trees! Natalie said, "They look like trees from Africa!" And they do!
The River Avon flows right past the castle. In fact, they have a mill at the castle that generated electricity from the river since 1890.
Todd and Grant in front of the mound.
The lower two towers are Clarence Tower (which you can barely see on the left) which is behind Bear Tower in this picture. The tall tower in the background is Guy's Tower. Both Clarence and Bear towers were designed by Richard of Gloucester in 1478, but when he was killed in 1485, building stopped and never resumed. So even though they were designed to be as tall as Guy's Tower, this is as far as they got!
One of the gates to enter the courtyard of Warwick Castle.
When you first walk into the castle grounds, you're greeted with the living area of those who have resided here.
Guy's Tower at Warwick Castle.
The Great Hall, State Rooms and Chapel are here on the right. We somehow missed the Chapel!
The mound is one of Warwick Castle's oldest sections. It was built in 1068 under orders from William the Conqueror!
Our first stop was the Gaol, or jail. This was the original dungeon and was built in the 14th century beneath Caesar's Tower.
Do you see the grill in the bottom left corner? If the prisoners really got out of line, they would be put down here in the damp and dark. Most were forgotten in this claustrophobic hole!
The kids were ready to leave when we threatened to lock them in here if they misbehaved!
Up until 2007, Warwick Castle was owned by the Tussaud's group. So there are lots of wax figures demonstrating what they might have done in various parts of the castle over the years. While some might find this cheesy, it was actually really great for our kids who were able to get a better understanding of what went on at the castle. Here we have Richard Neville, the "Kingmaker" getting fitted for his clothing.
Wax figures making weapons at Warwick Castle. In this area, they had people making weapons and working in an apothecary. Because iron was so expensive, they made round shots (or cannonballs) out of sandstone. You can see the star shaped object on top of the barrel to the left. They would throw these on the battlefield and the opposing soldiers would march on them, severely wounding their feet.
Natalie thought this room was really funny. The little girl is playing and pretending she's a fighter while her mom (or grandma?) sews up the soldiers uniforms.
From up above, you can see the mill, dam and hydro power generation system for the castle.
This old school toilet was set behind a curtain ha ha. Don't know why they would try to hide THIS gem!?!
In the main entrance of the Great Hall, they have a big old tree and a ton of presents underneath. The kids thought this was pretty cool, and wanted to know which presents were for them!
After we visited the Kingmaker area, we went into the state rooms. My wide zoom lens came in real handy in the Music Room. Notice the tree on the right... it was all decorated for the holidays. This tree had little rolled up scrolls of music hanging on the tree as decorations!
This wasn't an overly impressive room but there were lots of pictures about King George V, the current Queen's grandfather.
The library was one of my favorite rooms, especially decorated for the holidays.
Hey, Shakespeare Works! We've learned a little something about him recently!
In this section of the castle, you can see how Daisy, the Countess of Warwick might of lived, and how the hired help worked. Here we have the servants bathroom. I seriously thought she was real at first!
We went into Daisy, the Countess of Warwick's bedroom to find the help having a heated discussion about things they should and shouldn't be doing in their free time!
Natalie decided this was her room, solely based on this bed alone.
You can't see the maid behind the curtain on the right, but the maid and the butler were here having a conversation over the speakers. Pretty funny, because it's so Madam Tussaud's like.
This room is said to be HAUNTED! This is the Kenilworth bedroom. The Countess of Warwick used to hold séances here with Aleister Crowley. Meanwhile, a sign in the room (the one on the foot chest in the picture) says, "According to tradition, Anne, 4th Countess of Warwick, and the renowned South African spiritualist Archdeacon Colley raised a young girl from the dead on the bed in this room." Eeeek!
The Time Tower (on the left) and the mound in the center.
On the other side of Guy's Tower, you can see what used to be the moat.
There's a cute little hedge maze called the Horrible Histories maze. Grant is obsessed with mazes, so naturally we had to do this. It went through various periods that were of importance to the castle's history, including when it was conquered by the Normans, under the influence of the Stuarts, made it through the Middle Ages, and even this bit above about World War I.
Phew! Make sure you don't impersonate a Chelsea pensioner or rob some rabbit warrens! Those are punishable by death! I'll also be sure not to steal any sheep or forge a license to sell perfume!
The Vicious Vikings area has a large boat in the middle of it. We pillaged and plundered!
Admittedly, we did get lost once or twice. We wound up back in the World War I area and the kids went running through the bunker.
Heading out of the maze, I imagined in the spring and summer this trellised walkway would have been very pretty!
From way down on the bank of the Avon River, looking up at Caeser's Tower. At nearly 45 meters high, it's the tallest tower at Warwick Castle.
This is like a painting! So beautiful in late fall!
Each day, twice a day, they put on a show called, "Winter Birds of Prey." The show is great and the birds fly around and get treated to some yummy dead animals!
The birds were funny. They mostly didn't want to cooperate. This buzzard gets greeted by sometimes up to a dozen of these little birds whenever he flies. Apparently they like to annoy him!
The trainer has the buzzard trained to fly back to these stands when there is meat on them. Of course, he would come back, eat his meat real quick and then fly off again!
Well at least he fits under the gateway!
We entered Bear Tower where Natalie was immediately chained up to a tree stump.
It was thought that at one time, they kept live bears down below in these grates! The bear with a ragged staff was the crest of the Earls of Warwick since the 1400s.
The sun was starting to go down in the mid afternoon at Warwick Castle.
Looking up at the interesting trees that surround the mound.
Grant and I hiked up to the top of the mound for some better views. He's so cute!
Looking back toward the state apartments from the mound.
Beautiful Warwick Castle with very deep and dark late afternoon shadows.
Facing west from the top of the mound (notice all of the sheep on the far left side in the green grassy area!). We really enjoyed our time in Stratford-Upon-Avon and at Warwick Castle. Until next time, Warwickshire!
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