Hello everyone following the blog! I am a junior nursing student at the college. I am originally from Saint Cloud and have always loved to travel. London is a bucket-list destination for me, and when I heard about this trip I knew it was too good of an opportunity to pass up.
Today we traveled two hours by coach to Stratford-upon-Avon! It literally translates to ‘street where you cross river.’ Everyone slept on the ride there and awoke ready to journey back to medieval times. We first drove through the outskirts of the town where there was a lot of horses that were mainly for races. It was very cute to see several foals galloping close to their mother’s side. On our audio bus tour we learned that the town historically profited from the sale of stone, wood, and wool. However, today the main source of revenue is tourism.
After stopping to have a bite to eat, we had the privilege of touring Holy Trinity Church. This beautiful church is the site of the baptism and burial of William Shakespeare. While it is not common for a curse to be in a church, Shakespeare’s grave does contain a warning that whoever interferes with the dirt at his grave will be cursed. The church actually still displays the baptismal font that was used for Shakespeare! They also have photocopies of the church records showing the approximate dates of William Shakespeare’s birth and funeral.
The photo above shows a statue of Shakespeare holding a feather for writing. The gentleman working in the church informed us that every year the students from the school Shakespeare himself attended replace the feather. He told us about the spectacular procession that takes place when it is replaced. This year's replacement was even more significant because it was the year that a female student replaced the feather! I personally thought this was a very cool fact.
Syd
I think the chapel was my favorite part of our Stratford tour, too! It's interesting how both his wife and daughter said that the bust in the church looked like him, so that even today we know what he was like in life.
ReplyDeleteIt's so strange to think about the people buried underneath all of these churches. I guess I don't think about how common that has to be, at least here in the UK. I wonder how often people have tried to fulfill that curse Shakespeare set up? In such a well-respected place in local/UK history, I have to think at least a few novelists or theater students have made narrative hooks on some hooligan unleashing a Shakespearean horror on the countryside...
ReplyDelete