Friday was a date day for Emily and I. After being frustrated by the Post Office ($50 to send something to the US?) we wandered around Oxford trying to find a place to eat lunch. We decided on The Red Lion pub for some delicious (and surprisingly cheap) fish and chips. Emily got some traditional English cider. Because they have both sparkling and still water here in the UK, I asked for "Still Water" which apparently sounds like "Stella" as in Stella Artois, the beer. So, I got my first pint at a pub by accident. It was better than expected, and so we made our way to the movie theater to see Inception. It was real great, and blew our minds out. However, the movie theater took half an hour took get the projection thing working. Good times.
After all that we made our way back to dinner, which was fish and chips. Well planned, us.
That evening, I hung out with Ben, Sam, Kyle, Patty, and James of Oxford University who has been serving us dinner these two weeks. We went to a pub IN OXFORD CASTLE which was very classy.
The next morning, Saturday, I was awakened by this sound, EEEEEE OOOOOOO EEEEEE OOOOO EEEE OOOOO EEEEEOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, at 6:40 am. So I rushed out the door pulling on pants and swearing under my breath. The crowd gathered outside of the fire-emergency gathering point at the chapel, expecting to see the smoke billowing from one of the buildings. I should point out that we have already had the only fire drill we were supposed to have last week, so we all thought this was an actual fire. Instead, it turns out some nice old lady had been curious about seeing the chapel and opened the door, setting off the burglar/fire alarm. So we all went back to bed, and the alarm went off about three more times. At that point, I just went ahead and got up, because I had to get ready to go to Stratford-Upon-Avon.
Shelby, Rachel, and I rode the coach bus with the rest of the gang to Stratford-Upon-Avon (which is called upon-Avon because it is upon the Avon river...) in anxious anticipation. And by that I mean we slept. When we got there, we began with a walking tour led by our Shakespeare tutor, John O'Conner, to various sites around Stratford, such as the Gower Shakespeare memorial, the Dirty Duck actors' pub, the river, the new Royal Shakespeare Company house, and the Holy Trinity Church, where Shakespeare was baptised and now is interred. After seeing Shakespeare's grave, Shelby, Rachel and I tried to find food, but most places did not open until 12. We eventually found a little sandwich and cake shop next to Shakespeare's house, and ate with Louiza, Jenny, and Bonnie from our Shakespeare class. Our restaurant was one of the only ones that wasn't cheesily-named, such as "The Food of Love" (Twelfth Night), "The As You Like It Cafe" (As You Like It) "Mistress Quickley's" (Henry V), etc. Almost immediately after eating, we had to make our way to the Courtyard theater, which is a temporary theater the RSC is using while their new one is being renovated. Essentially, the Courtyard Theater is a giant tin box. Inside, however, it is a great theater space. We saw the play The Winter's Tale, one of Shakespeare's last four, and one of his most tragic comedies. It includes one of the most famous lines of Shakespeare's stage directions: "Exit, pursued by a bear." The bear was awesome, the play was great, and two huge bookshelves and a giant chandelier crashed on stage (intentionally) to symbolize the tremendous fall of a ruined king. It was epic, with all the books flying out onto the stage and papers blowing everywhere and chandeliers crashing. Man, it was great. After the play, we spent the little time we had trying to find our Dean Dr. Todd a souvenir, because she wanted one for her son. I also got a "William Shake" at the As You Like It Cafe. It was the worst milkshake I've ever had. Still, when we headed back, we agreed it was a great day.
After dinner, Emily and I took a long walk around some of the University parks, and I went to sleep at 10:30, and did not get up until 10:30. I am now quite well rested for my paper writing, and I should probably get started, though I may go to lunch instead...
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