Monday 9 November 2020

Trip to Shakespere's county


 Stratford-upon-Avon is a pretty, Tudor town set on the River Avon.



My daughter, Jasmine and I travelled up by car in horrific rain and began to wonder about the fear consuming the country as it stands right now. Was this foolish to travel at all? Should we have stayed at home? It didn't feel like the right thing to do to turn around and head home so we enjoyed our snacks, the radio, each other and looked forward to seeing some different sights. 





The houses were epic mansions with history woven through them and silent walls held the stories of families departed from long ago. They were stunning, some behind gates, some more open to eager eyes like mine. Jasmine drove so I could let my eyes follow the view until it was out of sight and on to the next beautiful building. 


Getting away from our regular life felt odd recently when we went to Center Parcs and this trip seemed to carry a similar theme but it was nice to feel as though we were travelling once again and I felt hopeful that there might be a time soon when I could book my next Tui trip.


After a friends wedding, in the rain, we headed to our hotel to get checked in.  I was delighted with the views on the way there and the look of the hotel. Although it was dark, the surrounding beauty on the other side of the window waited nicely until morning when we had breakfast. 

We chose to stay at the Swans Nest Hotel which was right next to the beautiful river. Reception greeted us with our name and we headed to our room. First thing you always do, after finding out how to switch on the lights, is press on the bed isn't it. Yep, it passed the test and felt comfortable, which it was. I enjoyed a wonderful night sleep here and I was not disappointed with the amazing shower either. 







Jasmine and I headed for breakfast at 9.30 and the Bistro was a very french looking quaint orangery overlooking the river through small, squared windows. the food was outstanding, great flavours, served beautifully and I was delighted with the meal.  we even had two courses as well as coffee and apple juice. 




After checking out, we explored the local area. Even though it was busy, everyone was polite and wore face masks while keeping distant. So nice. the swans floated in grace while the contrasting seagulls created chaos. so many dog walkers were out and the occasional busker allowed me to empty my full purse of small change.




Our plan was to adventure into discovery of the local area. we saw Shakespeare statues, I posed with Hamlet and then the rain started again so we took shelter in the costa and enjoyed a hot chocolate. People, all around yet we felt very safe and actually pretty happy. It was almost time to leave when our friend called us to meet up before we headed home. Which we did, having seen another new, UK place to visit. 

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