Shakespeare, Wales, Princess Diana, Kenilworth Castle and a row boat

Shakespeare

We took advantage of a beautiful Saturday last weekend and visited Stratford upon avon, the nearby birthplace of Shakespeare. We began the day with a boat ride on the river Avon that runs through the town.

The captain of the boat that you see in the background was quite entertaining, he even took his false teeth out for us. After the boat ride we took a walk through the town across to the old church where Shakespeare is supposedly buried. Apparently they're not exactly sure where on the grounds he is buried, but they conveniently have a tomb for him inside the church that you have to pay to see - we gave the tomb a skip. For lunch we had a picnic in the Shakespeare gardens right around the corner from where Shakespeare attended school. The original building is still standing and the school is still functioning - you can actually take a tour of the school conducted by a current student.

After lunch, we headed over to the home where Shakespeare was born.

Stratford was amazing! This was the second time that we had visited the place together, but for some reason we enjoyed it a lot more this time - maybe it was the family or the perfect weather; whatever it was, I think we'll go back again sometime.

...Wales

Last time we over here we spent a couple of days in Wales and enjoyed it so much that we decided to go back this past week. I spent most of the day playing golf at the Celtic Manor, the venue for next year's Ryder Cup,

while Traci and my parents explored the nearby town of Caerleon and it's Roman ruins. The walked around an ancient Roman amphitheatre that apparently used to seat 6000 people.

...Princess Diana

The Spencer family (Princess Diana's maiden name) own the Althorp Manor, a huge old home and estate about 10 minutes from my parents home where Princess Diana is buried. We spent an afternoon taking a look at the home from afar (we didn't feel like paying the 15 pounds entrance fee)

and visiting the nearby church and graveyard.

All the villages in the area seem to be connected to the Althorp estate by foot paths that wind through the country side; so, if we can find time between now and next Wednesday (when we leave) we might take an afternoon and wander around the paths.

...Kenilworth Castle

Kenilworth castle is a ruin that dates back to the 11 hundreds. It was cool to walk around the grounds and through the ruins.

...and a row boat

Yesterday was our 5'th anniversary, so I took Traci down to a town called Leamington Spa that has a river running through its centre. We rented a row boat and spent an hour exploring the towns nature reserve from the river. It had been a while since Traci or I had been rowing. It took me a while to get the hang of it again (I don't think I ever actually did), but Traci seemed to be a natural.

After our river trip we spent some time walking around the town with some doughnuts and chocolate milk.