The Shakesperience

so I'm a couple of weeks behind, but I'm going to catch up, I promise

two weekends ago (Sep 22) I went on a school organized trip to Warwick Castle and Stratford-upon-Avon with Julie and Alex.

Both beautiful places, but Warwick Castle was my favorite. They had part of it restored to it's 16th century glory and part restored to it's 19th century glory, which was cool. We couldn't figure out why there were so many odd wax figures everywhere, but then learned (upon returning home and checking wikipedia) that it is owned by Tussauds (as in Madame Tussaud). This castle had a tower and an old moat and a place where you could try on armor and victorian bonnets. Plus, there was a trebuchet!

Stratford-upon-Avon was quite lovely. We saw the outside of the house where Shakespeare was born (we were too cheap to go inside) and walked along the Avon to the church where he is burried. Overall it's a very touristy place, as you would imagine, with Shakespeare type statues everywhere, but I enjoyed it nontheless.

Warwick Castle from the outside - we went to the top of that tower!
the entryway
Castles used to be built in the "motte-and-baily" style, which I learned in medieval history last semester, so it was cool to see it in real life! This is the "motte" or raised hill section of the castle, taken from within the "baily" or enclosed courtyard.
view from the top of the tallest tower looking down at other parts of the castle
view from the top of the tallest tower looking at the surrounding town

Julie, Alex, and I (from left to right) trying on some helmets
now we get to the Victorian part of the castle
notice Queen Elizabeth II. We thought her dress was fairly hideous.

A dark room that I would not enjoy lounging in
This tea room was pretty fabulous. Not only was it nice looking, it had a lot of history to it. Queen Victoria and her son took tea here with the Duchess of Warwick. Also, those paintings on the wall are of Henry VIII and various women through history, which is pretty amazing.
This clock in the tea room belonged to Marie Antoinette and was sold to the Duke of Warwick by Napoleon.
Here we find the wax figures enjoying the song sung by this Wax Woman. On the couch on the right is the wax figure of Winston Churchill's mother.
The wax figures in their bedroom.

this is the Peacock Garden behind the castle
Julie and Alex in the Pacock Garden
me in the Peacock Garden
a peacock in the Peacock Garden
a trebuchet!!!!!! We saw a demonstration of it launching a boulder, which was way awesome.

Shakespeare's birthplace
Avon and the many birds that frequent it
the doorway to the church where Shakespeare was buried - notice how small the door is!!
the church where Shakespeare is buried
Shakespeare's grave - I dig the epitaph (no pun intended)