Shakespeare and the street...

I have to start this blog out with an apology...I'm So Sorry!  I have been out of touch for too long but am coming back.  Sometimes this travel stuff just gets away from me and I forget to sit down and take the time to reflect on what has happened and where I have been.  I seem to enjoy it more when I do so here is the latest.  I am going to step back a few days and recap my final week in London.  I had booked a full day tour of the Cotswolds a while back and now it was time to take it.  I was on a bus and headed out into the countryside by 8:15 am and was really looking forward to it.  Our tour guide was this man who had grown up in the area and fit the perfect description of an english gentleman.  Silver-haired, dashing smile, charming and so kind and helpful...no I did not ask for his number since he was slightly out of my age range but if he's any indication of how the english age sign me up....I'll

Burford Church

take one!  Our first stop was this adorable little town called Burford.  It was full of little side streets with shops just like most towns but it's main attraction was the church.  It was lovely and incredibly old. There were also some original stones in it from when it had first been built which was neat to see.  When you were inside it was kinda tricky to decide whether it was catholic or church or england because the statues and other bits in the church looked a bit Catholic.  The cool part I found out was that these Catholic statues had been saved somehow when Henry VIII came through and destroyed all Catholic items.  They had been

White Swan Hotel

uncovered later and are now on display.  It speaks volumes that words just can't about what the country had been through.  The next town on the tour was our lunch spot.  We walked along a river and ended up at a lovely hotel called the White Swan.  The hotel was right across from a lovely trout farm.  The best part about this spot was our lunch was fresh trout from the river.  It was so tasty.  It is always intersting being on these big bus tours though.  I don't usally take them but these spots were tricky to get to with public transport and there was a living social deal so I took it.  Anyway, what is interesting is the people.  I feel like

Stratford-Upon-Avon Church

everyone is always complaining about something or rushing to get to the next stop.  It makes it so hard to just enjoy the moments you are in and instead you feel like you are in an episode of the Amazing Race looking for the next clue to lead you to your next activity.  I find it really hard but I suppose sometimes it's the way to get in a lot in a small amount of time and then go back for more later if you really enjoy a spot.  Oh, and also on this one add in a lunch stop where you have to sit at a table with a bunch of people you don't know...makes it even better.  I unfortunately sat down at the silent table.  It was like pulling teeth to get a conversation going.  I finally gave up, ate my fish and went for a walk outside.  After my little walk about the bus took us to the spot I was most excited about, Stratford Upon Avon.  This was the home of Shakespeare.  The town definitely had a bit more of a touristy vibe to it but there still was the England charm beneath it.  Once again because I had so little time I was not able to really go in anywhere but I did get to see the outside of his home, his daughters home and then also the lovely church he and his family are buried in.  The church was really beautiful and they had all sorts of stories

Here Lies Shakespeare

about his life in there.  Apparently he was christened in this church also.  They had the baptismal bowl in there too.  I chatted with the tour guide and one of the men in the church about some of the crazy requests they get and apparently on an almost monthly basis they get a request to exhume the body.  There are tales that he was buried with some unpublished works that people want to get there hands on.  The church will not allow it for two reasons...One because you just don't do that...it's sacred.  Two because there is a curse supposedly on anyone that digs up the body.  That is what the plaque in the photo is.  The grave has only ever been marked by this plaque...no name.  Gotta love those crazy artists.  Speaking of crazy artists we are gonna switch gears now and touch on the other cool thing I did in London...well I suppose it isn't the only other cool thing but the most different thing.  I went on a walking tour called the London Alternative walking tour.  It was down in the Brick Lane area of London

near Spitalfields.  I thought it was just like your average walking tour but it really wasn't.  It was such a cool different area then any where else I have been in London.  Apparently it's the new artsy area...no wonder I liked it.  So my adorable tour guide took us on a walk through the streets near Brick Lane and we learned about the history of the area but also the passion and beauty of the street art.  He had so many cool stories about all the pieces of art along the way.  Some of the art we saw was done illegally and would be considered graffiti if they got caught but many of the big pieces were done with permission from the buildings.  The community there usually is ok with the art that is up because many of the artists are well known and people come to look at it.  If people come to look at a piece on the side of a convenience store many times they will pop in the shop to buy something too.  I was really intrigued buy the community and the lifestyle.  All the thought behind a painting that is put out there for the world to see and make a statement.  Once it's out there though the artist disconnects from it and knows that it will not be there forever because at some point there will be a

 new picture to be painted or statement to be made and they can't stand in the way of that because of an emotional connection to a painting.  There has been a problem with this lately with the Banksy street art.  Now I am sure you have all heard of Banksy.  His work is all over.  There are some in LA that I have seen.  I didn't see any in London but that is beside the point.  Apparently because he has made quite a name for himself his street art is treated differently then everyone else's.  The police actually will put plastic covers over his work but then paint over other artists.  It is not what any of these artists would want and it really isn't fair. They get put in jail if they get caught and then Bansky gets his preserved for life.  Just

 seems really silly.  Anyway, just something to think about next time you see something you think is graffiti.  Outside of the spray painted street art, which is amazing considering how hard it is to control a spray paint can, there also was this really cool piece that was made by using explosives and chipping away at the plaster.  He basically put plaster all over the wall and would place small explosives inside areas he had chipped away at and explode the plaster.  He would then refine it of course but I was just amazed at the beauty that he created on a wall in an alleyway.  We could go up and touch it and really experience it and it was just as beautiful if not more then something you would see in a gallery.  I really enjoied learning so many new things and having my eyes opened to a world I know little about.
So this ends my time in London...for now.  I am headed out to Stockholm to see friends and family.  You will hear all about it quite soon!