We were in two places today; Ironbridge and Stratford on Avon. Two really cool places that you really need to spend 2 or 3 days in to really appreciate them properly. First was the iron revolution which began in Ironbridge with the creation of steel and the first iron bridge built to span a river.
We stopped then at Anne Hathaway's house, she being the wife of Shakespeare. She was often alone here alone as he would spend his time writing or performing in another place. Their house was adorable, thatched roof, although nothing out of the ordinary for the times.
We then went into Stratford on Avon to see the place where Shakespeare died and spent a lot of his time. We saw his burial place in the church, also where his wife is buried along side him, the first ever Harvard House, the very quaint village streets and stores and the River Avon.
It is said that in the late 1800's a man, of course whose name always escapes me - McLellan or McDonald or something, created a perfume and then when he continued on to sell it after having lived in this area, changed its name to "Avon." See, a story in every part of the world.
We had a lovely soup in a petite cafe and then continued on our trek to discover the town. We drove into London again and felt comfortable in being in a place that we knew. How strange! We went out for supper at the pub to have a fish meal- the last of such in England- that which I am no longer calling England but rather "Hedgeland" as there are nothing but hedges everywhere dividing up the lands.
After I get done with the United Kingdom, it will never be the same. Tomorrow we head out on the train to Glasgow, first class, yahoo. A treat to ourselves, so we have learned to do more readily these days. Good for us, I say!!!
