"Ball in a cup! Ball in a cup! It's a ball in a cup!"

Hello and good evening from Stratford-upon-avon. Today felt pretty different from any other since being here. But then again, no two days are really all that alike when you're on a two month holiday in Britain. As I mentioned yesterday, we're staying at a quaint little bed and breakfast. And, as I thought about it, I don't believe I've ever actually stayed at a B&B before. I have to admit, I'm a fan.

The Royalynn

We had a traditional English breakfast that consisted of eggs, toast, beans, sausage, ham, and hash-browns. It was glorious and made me realize how much I miss homemade food.

Still a little tired. Our cute little teacups

We did all kinds of Shakespeare related things today. We started our day by going to Shakespeare's birthplace which I enjoyed very much. The house obviously had to have some restoration done but it is the original home which was quite wonderful.

There was a small museum that you went through before getting to Shakespeare's first home. There were a few treasures to see!

 A ring that most likely belonged to Shakespeare himself

 The first folio. THE reason why we have the Shakespeare plays we do

And then we got to explore the interior of the house itself. Shakespeare's father was a tanner and also served as the town's mayor. Thus, the Shakespeare home was larger and more grand than most of that time period.

 The dining room

 The actual room in which William Shakespeare was born

We went to a couple of other places that I didn't take pictures of. Shakespeare purchased his first home in Stratford at the age of 33. He lived, wrote, and eventually died in that house. Tragically this real piece of work named Reverend Francis Gastrill decided to ruin everything. Gastrill lived in the house in the mid-1700's and grew tired of Shakespeare enthusiasts coming to visit the house and look at the tree that Shakespeare supposedly planted himself. So he decided to cut it down. In retaliation, the townspeople and Shakespeare fans attacked the house and broke the crazy expensive windows and even threatened to kill him. Even back then fandoms were dangerous. Gastrill eventually left but not without deciding to be a total imbecile first. He demolished the house... if he couldn't peacefully live there, no one could. Good job Gastrill. Everyone still hates you hundreds of years later.

This garden is where Shakespeare's final Stratford home stood.

We also went to Shakespeare's daughter's house and granddaughter's house and that's all fine and well but there isn't much to report about them. Old houses. Sweet. Frankly I found the little kid play station much more interesting.

I almost bought it simply because it was clever and makes you sound like an Irishman

 Children's play clothes. Lice. Lice everywhere I'm sure.

 I am SO GOOD at ball in a cup

 We're children.

Then we went on a tour of the Royal Shakespeare Company Theatre. Honestly, I was pretty bored for most of it. That stuff just isn't very interesting to me. However, I did get to try some armor on. So that was entertaining for a minute.

And then we saw Hamlet at the RSC. It was really really good. We're leaving Stratford bright and early tomorrow morning. And one week from tomorrow I'll be seeing the good old Pops! I am very excited.