A Journey's End

Hello once again!

Today, the St. Scholastica group ended its excursion to Bath and Stratford-upon-Avon and returned to London! A bit of a later checkout time at our Stratford hotel meant we were able to sleep in if we desired; however, everyone in my room was awake much earlier than we had set our alarms for. I think our bodies may have adjusted to early mornings!

Shortly after breakfast and check out, we bused ten minutes to Anne Hathaway’s Cottage, a historical site near Stratford-upon-Avon. Before anyone jumps to conclusions, this cottage was the family home of William Shakespeare’s wife, Anne Hathaway; it has no apparent connections with the Princess Diaries star who bears the same name.

Anne Hathaway's Cottage

The cottage is surrounded by a magnificent garden which boasted many perfect picture spots. Naturally, we took many a photo of the flowers, structures, and wildlife nearby, while trying to get at least one decent group photo.

So many colorful flowers and wood work, plus an appearance by
Mortimer the slug, who raced his way across the pathway under our vigilant eyes. 

I think we managed one! 

 

We were also able to tour the inside of the cottage and caught glimpses of the lives of the Hathaway family through the thirteen generations that inhabited the cottage starting with Anne’s grandfather! The family began living in tight quarters, but were able to expand the cottage through the generations, eventually ending up with enough space to support three families as tenants toward the end of the Hathaway’s tenure on the property.

While Anne lived there, the family was in possession of two beds, a symbol of their elevated status and wealth at the time. It was also interesting to see and read about different pieces of furniture that were of particular importance in the courtship of William and Anne as found in stories told during tours by the last generations of Hathaway’s living at the cottage property.

The Hathaway Bed, given to the family by
Shakespeare's granddaughter, Elizabeth Barnard.

The fire place in the middle room, complete with a bench
(to the right) said to be the place where
Anne and William chatted during their courtship. 

After the tour and a quick lunch stop at the café next door, we boarded our coach and departed for London. Two hours later, our bus driver Richard had safely delivered us to the doorstep of our home-away-from-home, the Jesmond Hotel.

Our afternoon was spent recuperating from our journeys, but our day was not over yet. With the evening, a few groups of Scholastica students ventured to the West End to see the musicals Wicked or Les Mis. After our whirlwind journeys from Bath and Stratford-upon-Avon through the Land of Oz and the French Revolution, we hang our hats and are gladly off to our dreams as we await another day in London!