Day 4: Shakespeare!

On the fourth day, we traveled to Stratford Upon Avon, most commonly known as the birthplace of famous writer William Shakespeare!  The first place that we went in Stratford was the Holy Trinity Church. This church is famous because it is where William Shakespeare’s body is buried. This church was beautiful, with its incredible architecture and its intricate stained glass windows. Shakespeare’s grave was elaborate, surrounded flowers and plaques with interesting facts and information.

After we visited the church to learn about Shakespeare, we moved on to a location in which we learned more personal facts about the famous writer. This famous spot was the family home of Anne Hathaway, William’s wife! The cottage is amongst a beautiful garden with hundreds of colorful flowers. We took a tour of the cottage, and were able to see some of the original furniture, cooking materials, and artifacts that were used by Anne Hathaway and her family.

Our next stop was the city of Oxford. We took a tour of some of the famous universities in Oxford. The universities there were a lot different from the colleges in the United States. For example, my college is by the water, with a lot of trees and red brick buildings. The schools in Oxford were very elaborately designed, with statues and cream colored brick buildings with a medieval style, and located right in the city. The most memorable location that we went in Oxford was the Divinity School. This school is part of the University of Oxford. What made this school most fascinating to the travelers was the fact that it was featured in Harry Potter! It was used as the Hogwarts School Hospital in the Harry Potter movies. It was pretty cool to think we were walking on the same floor that all of the Harry Potter cast walked on!

The hotel that we stayed at this day was located in Bournemouth, England. Bournemouth is conveniently located right by the English channel! When we arrived at the hotel, we quickly dropped off our luggage in our rooms, bundled up, and headed to the beach! I obviously had to stick my hand in the water, just to say I’ve touched the English Channel! We let out all of our remaining energy by running around the beach chasing each other and having silly photo shoots with the wind blowing our hair. To end the night, all of the students worked together to write “BHS” in huge letters in the sand, which are the initials of my high school. Another late night to bed, with high expectations for tomorrow!