I left London for the last time this year on Friday. It was bittersweet, of course. I love that city more than any other major capital city on the planet. I have great friends and I genuinely enjoy the town.
But all good things and such. Plus, I was heading north for my last English trip where I was meeting up with Laura (an old friend from Loveland) and her husband Tim.
Tim was working in London on Friday so I met him at the Canary Wharf, which is in Zone 2. I’d not been out that far and we pleasantly surprised.
However, it’s the least London-y part of London. The financial district it seemed. Or a place where financials happened. It looks quite American in its bigness, which is how Tim described it to me in an email. I believe he was pretty spot on.
We got out of the city and drove a few hours north near Northampton to this brilliant little village where Tim and Laura live. In case you were wondering what heaven looks like, it looks a bit like where they live. (Which, strangely, looks like a Smurf village.)
Tim and I beat Laura home and we were starving, so we stopped by the Cromwell Cottage for some burgers and more talk. We’d not spent much time together, really, but I think it’s fair to say we hit it off over sports, politics, sports, Clash of the Titans, sports and sports.
We chilled at the house on Friday. After a quick Saturday run, Laura and I headed towards Stratford-Upon-Avon.
We did, however, take the long way through Great Brington, a place most Americans won’t know about – although they have heard of its most famous resident: Princess Diana.
Her family owns much of the land in that area (including the church where Laura and Tim had their Blessing). In the distance is Princess Diana’s family estate. (You can see bigger pictures of the house at my Flick account, which you can see by clicking on any of these pictures.)
We eventually made it to Stratford where, after a quick ice cream break, we headed to see the house Shakespeare was born. It was far too expensive to go inside (and who wants to see inside, frankly), but we did get a few shots standing outside.
For the record, I’ve had the chance to see a Shakespeare play at The Globe in London and visit the Bard’s birthplace in Stratford-Upon-Avon. (Plus, I saw a show at the National Theater and did some teaching at The Soho Theater.) I’d say I’ve worked a bit on my theater chops this summer.
With that in mind, Laura convinced me to find my inner-Shakespeare.
Here at the end, I took a quick video of a street musician who was set up. You’ll notice he has a dog. If you listen through, you’ll see why this is important. It was a fun little diversion we had as we weaved our way through the streets of Stratford.
