Shakespeare – Travels with Ali

Travelling back from our night away in Shrewsbury to visit friends we decided to break the journey with a trip to Stratford-upon-Avon. I think most people know this is the birthplace of Shakespeare and who didn’t study at least one of his plays at school! Mine was MacBeth and to this day I still don’t understand it, and it put me off Shakespeare for life. However Stratford is well worth a visit as it is steeped in history and culture. It’s amazing that people still live in the 16th century terrace houses.

We stayed in a very nice hotel called Villares which was just a ten minute walk into the town itself. So after a “free” continental breakfast we checked out and left the car there and ventured into town.

The town is extremely picturesque and I was forever stopping to take photos, so it wasn’t exactly an energetic walk.

**Trying to work out how to get back to his flock**

A Fun Quiz – Who Said What

What do you remember from school?

Weep not, sweet queen; for trickling tears are vain.

2. Come you spirits, That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here

3. Before, I loved thee as a brother, John, But now, I do respect thee as my soul

4. Get thee to a nunnery, go. Farewell.

Answers at the end

After finishing our walk we decided it was too early for lunch here and drove to another lovely place called Bourton-on-the-Water. This is a village in rural Cotswolds, south central England.

As pretty as this village is, it is mostly made up of tearooms and gift shops and the pub wasn’t serving food. We had a wonderful walk exploring around as we went.

Gallery of Bourton-on-the-Water

By this time hunger pains were setting in and we were getting a bit desperate. We didn’t want to end up at a service station as the last resort! So back to the car it was while I made enquiries of the trusty google maps. I plugged a place in and off we went. I did mention though that we may see some sign on the roadside advertising a place off the beaten track.

Well what do you know around ten minutes later we came upon such a sign for “The Feathered Nest” and turned off. The road took us down a very narrow windy lane and around a few corners until there was no more road! This place really was on the edge of beyond. Straight ahead of us there was a 2 star Michelin restaurant. Lunch was not going to be cheap!

Finally after a scrumptious lunch we were on the road again back to Essex. This restaurant was such a great find and really made our mini break away.

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Answers to above quotes

Falstaff
Lady Macbeth
Prince Henry
Hamlet

Our trip today into London was going to take us “across the water” to Borough Markets. It was a beautiful bright sunny day, perfect weather for pounding the pavements of London. From the station we walked down Fenchurch Street and across Philpot Lane onto King William Street and over London Bridge. Our first destination was Borough Markets.

Bloom Paradise by Jun T. Lai

These two very colourful sculptures are sitting just outside Fenchurch Street Station.
These ornamental works of art are part of Sculptures in the City and were commissioned to bring colour and life to the City. A wonderful contrast to the glass and steel monotone high rises that now line the streets of London.

**The Walkie Talkie – Fenchurch Building**

I’ve always wanted to go the top of this building to visit The Sky Garden. It’s a fairly difficult process though as I discovered. Although it’s free you have to book a time slot online and you also have to show a vaccination certificate. Although we’ve both been double jabbed and boostered, I couldn’t commit to a timeframe and I was also worried I would have no battery left on my phone to show our certificates. Something for another day then!

This building is where I had my first office job at 16. I thought I was the bee’s knees on £25 per week.

**The glittering Shard in all its glory**

It took us around half an hour to walk to Borough Markets. There were lots of different food stalls offering all kinds of cuisine. Seating was mainly outside only though and food was served in disposable boxes with wooden cutlery, plus it was very chilly. In the end we found a wonderful Spanish restaurant and had tapas.

I wanted to explore around for a while before my dear husband wanted to cross back over the water to head for the shops! He will be now be know as Mr. Shopper.

The top photo is a replica of the Golden Hinde, the galleon captained by Francis Drake in his circumnavigation of the world between 1577 and 1580. Not open on a Monday so just a look for us.

All that is left of Winchester Cathedral

A mural painted by an Australian painter, Jimmy C in 2016 to commemorate 400 years of Shakespeare.

We decided to cross the river at the Millennium Bridge as this was a pedestrian bridge.

In the background you can see Cannon Street Railway Bridge, London Bridge and in the far distance Tower Bridge.

Southwark Bridge opened in 1921. A beautiful arch bridge crossing over to Walbrook Wharf.

A very elegant Millennium Bridge in the distance held up by giant steel supports, opened in June 2000. Behind this bridge is Blackfriars Bridge.

Above are Cardinal Cap Alley and The Deanery. The Dean of Southwark Cathedral’s private residence and dates back to 1712. Cardinal Cap Alley is an alley in Bankside. It used to lead to a brothel called The Cardinal’s Cap named because it had been owned by Henry Cardinal Beaufort, the Bishop of Winchester, who had paraded here wearing his red hat, after being appointed a cardinal by the Pope. Source: Wikipedia

Walking over Millennium Bridge towards St. Paul’s Cathedral and with The Shard behind us

I was intrigued by this “river furniture” as they are described and did some research. They are the old red pillars that supported the original Blackfriars Bridge in 1864. I think they are rather beautiful and add a touch of colour to the grey river.

From here we walked towards the Strand and up to Southampton Street where the Shopper had some shopping to do. A few streets more and we were in Covent Garden. Deciding enough was enough I suggested a pit stop for a quick pick me up. We had a coffee and a beer in a very grand place called Caffe Concerto. Adorned with crystal chandeliers and small elegant tables we sat and rested before moving on.

**Murals and artwork around Covent Garden**

Chinatown was not too far away so we walked over towards that area and thought “Chinese for Dinner”.

Deciding on a restaurant that looked good we walked to the door only to be told that the restaurant was next door. Anthony asked the security guard why he was standing there in an empty doorway and he said there was a cocktail bar on the top floor, five flights up called Opium! Well not one to turn away a cocktail before dinner we found ourselves heading up the dark and gloomy staircase. At the very top we opened a very ordinary looking door to a small dark lounge and three men waiting to take us to a table. We ended up sitting at the bar chatting with the bar staff and the owner!

**A dry martini for 007 and a “Trip to Malaysia” for me**

Thanks for coming on this journey with us and hope you are not as exhausted as I was at the end of the day. I think we walked approximately 20,000 steps in all.