Birthdays and Special Days Shakespeare and Prince Louis

Please join me in wishing William Shakespeare Happy 455th Birthday on April 23!  Amazing! The most read, memorized, published and produced playwright in history! Now that's someone to celebrate! 

Stratford-on-Avon is filled with Shakespeare related sites...

The Holy Trinity Church where Shakespeare is buried and his sweetheart Anne Hathaway's cottage which is just a bit along the river Avon in Stratford-Upon-Avon.

And there have been a lot of souvenirs made of the area and it's famous residents...

Beow is a tea caddy spoon for Anne Hathaway's cottage from the Victorian or Edwardian eras....

We know Stratford quite well... my husband was born quite near, in a small village...now swallowed up by Stratford... that used to be called Lady Wood. We have to pass through Stratford each time we go to the various family homes in the Midlands. Stratford is at the top of the Cotswolds. We could go the motorway route, but it is too stressy  for us as well as missing all the gorgeous villages on the way up from London. Yes...it takes a lot longer, but we usually make the trip in 2-3 days using only A and B roads and avoiding the motorways, stopping at favorite places, like Lower Slaughter. 

The one thing that we don't like, is the A422, I think, has to go through the center of Stratford and crosses a humpback bridge that is a real bottleneck. We try to avoid going through on weekends when Stratford is packed.

Some views of Stratford from various visits or pass throughs with a lunch or afternoon tea stop...

This is the Queen's Head pub in Stratford where we have stopped for lunch.

This is the Royal Shakespeare Theater in Stratford which is a wonderful year round venue. We have seen Judi Dench and other famous actors at work here. The tour is fun too!

I thought this sign was fun, and certainly shows you the options. All the major Shakespeare sites are quite walkable.

Above is a favorite...Harvard House, the founder of Harvard University who emigrated to escape religious prosecution.

Just outside Stratford is the Bancroft Boat Basin on The Avon River where several canals cross the river. We love canals, and often stop here with a picnic lunch before heading through Stratford.

Here is Shakespeare's grave and monument in Holy Trinity Church.

This is from the archives of Antiques and Teacups... a fun teapot by Leonardo in the shape of The Bard...

Isn't that fun?

We are also enjoying a PBS mystery series set in Stratford... Shakespeare and Hathaway...of course! Have you seen it? I guess the locale is our favorite character....

And speaking of birthdays, April 23rd is also Prince Louis Cambridge's first birthday. This photo was taken of the family for Prince Charles' 70th birthday last year.

And this photo was taken by Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge of her son Louis in honor of his first birthday. A cutie!

Hope you have a lovely week... I am hoping the pollen subsides!