I had the opportunity to have a day trip to Stratford upon Avon which is the birthplace of William Shakespeare. In this calm yet lively village, I was met with an abundance of gardens and homes dating back to the 14th century. The streets had some homage to Shakespeare whether it was a statue or street performers reciting his sonnets. The most popular home to visit was the birthplace of Shakespeare which was beautifully preserved with creaky floors and low-ceilings with humble decorations of what historians believed his house to look like. My favorite part was the lavish garden where I had the chance to request the actors (who appropriately performed in the garden) to perform a verse from Romeo and Juliet and I thought this performance set at Shakespeare’s house perfectly memorialized Shakespeare and his works.
Overall, I have discovered that the best way to learn a city is to get lost in it, which is what I did in the city of Oxford. Oxford University the oldest university in the U. K (1096) and is a world renowned university with notable alumni such as Stephen Hawking and J. R. R Tolkien. The city attracts visits from all over with its historic Gothic architecture that resembles Hogwarts. Notably, the great hall that inspired J.K Rowling is found at Oxford which I will now think of when I re-watch the Harry Potter series. Considering the old age of this university with centuries old years or academic history which have been passed through by famous scientists and authors. One of the places where writers like C.S Lewis and J. R. R Tolkien used to gather in the 1930s was at the Eagle and Child pub settled in between other modern pubs.
As the day was coming to an end, I was already missing London’s fast-paced lifestyle and cloudy skies. However, I did a lot of reflecting riding back to London as we passed by the English countryside-where I was not surprised by the endless amount of inspiration given to the alumni who graduated from Oxford University and in turn inspired generations of people to explore and have a great imagination.