Day Six

Friday, March 18:

Our final day in England was spent in the birthplace of the Bard himself. Stratford, England, proved to be a delightfully quaint town filled with both independently owned shops, and upscale department stores like Jack and Wills. We visited Shakespeare’s birthplace, and sought shelter under the thatched roof of the cottage owned by his wife, Anne Hathaway.

Eddy, Estie, Thomas and I all ate lunch at Quickly’s, where we ate potato leak soup and fish and chips.

From there, we meandered down Stratford’s cobble stone roads and peaked into shops varying from ones devoted completely to the Peter Rabbit franchise, to suspiciously inviting magic emporiums. We returned to the city and ate an alarmingly American meal of cheeseburgers and fries at the Hard Rock Cafe. To make up for this lack of European culture, we decided to spend the remainder of our evening at St Martin In the Field, where we were serenaded in candlelight by a full orchestra and choir for two hours of classical music. As we left the cathedral, the final chords of the organ still thrumming deep in our souls, a real, live, red fox ran across the steps in front of us.

Returning to the United States was hard for everyone. When asked what one would have changed about the experience, the general consensus was simple: “The only thing I would do differently is stay longer.” Eddy Galstead ‘16, said.