Shakespeare...

House and gardens of Biddulph.

One of the various monuments at Stowe.

Carrie, Alex, Beth, Sara, and Stephanie enjoying some Stratford nightlife!

Shakespeare's birth place.

Sorry no post yesterday, but our hotel does not have free wi-fi so I had to wait till today to find some free wi-fi.

Yesterday we left Chester and headed to Biddulph Gardens. We had a guided tour of the garden and were told that the garden was set up to create little micro-climates for different themes; there were Italian, Egyptian, Chinese, and American gardens. Each had plants and statuary that was representative of that area, so the Egypt garden had Sphinx statues at the entrance and then you went into what was meant to represent a tomb. There was also a geology museum that we got to go in which had been created by the original owners of the house and it showed the geological creation of the earth. There were various fossils and rocks that showed the progression of species over time. It was really neat!

From there we had a 3 hour bus ride to the Gardens of Stowe. We got there a little late so we didn't have as much time as we originally planned and as a result our visit was a little rushed. What we did see of Stowe was really interesting! It is definitely a place you can spend several hours roaming around, stopping here and there to sit and enjoy the scenery. Throughout the garden we found various monuments- there was a ancient temple, a temple of British Worthies which had the busts of people like Issac Newton, William Shakespeare, and Queen Elizabeth, among many others. There was also a giant sheep pasture that you could wander through so a bunch of us hung out with the sheep for a bit! I think the thing that added to the charm of Stowe, at least for me, was the time of day in which we were there- we were there from about 4 to 5.30 so the sun gave everything that nice golden glow that enriched all the colors and made it very enjoyable. Plus we had great weather! We were able to break out the shorts and t-shirts! From Stowe we headed to our hotel in Stratford-upon-Avon (home of Shakespeare). We went out to dinner before taking in some of the nightlife, which is much different than Ireland. They don't seem to be as fond of us Americans as the Irish were. Their idea of going out is also different from the Irish. Here it seems much more like it is in America, to go out all dressed up and have fun drinking.

Today we have a free day in Stratford, so after sleeping in a little a group of us went exploring the town. It is extremely touristy. Everyone is here to see the birthplace and grave of Shakespeare, along with the theater and everything else Shakespeare here. We toured around the town stopping in a few of the shops before going to lunch at Mc Donald's so we could us their wi-fi. I think the plan now is to go back to the hotel for a bit- nap, maybe do a little laundry- then go to the park across the street to hang out and work on our journals till our group dinner tonight.