Warwick Castle

Next Stop: Warwick Castle

This old castle was bought by Madame Tussaud's so it has several rooms of life-size wax people. The first thing I did was hike the mound. It is the oldest part of the castle and just has a great view on the top of tower. You can see lots of the town on one side and fields on the other. 

The Falconry Show!! We watched two different falconry shows while at Warwick Castle and neither had actual falcons. Am I the only one that thinks that is a little funny? The old bald eagle was excellent. We also saw a grey vulture, two different condors, and another eagle I think. It was much more impressive than the bowman show we watched earlier. The archer was a great historian, but not a great shot. It didn't take too long to realize the castle is like our Renaissance Fair. If we came a month later I'm sure it would be crazy busy. This Tuesday in June though only had a handful of other guests and a few school groups.

I actually left Warwick Castle for a bit and ventured around the town of Warwick. I was ready for lunch and George has mentioned it would be cheaper to eat lunch in town, rather than buy something from the cafe inside. Plus they were out of sandwiches. My hand was stamped so I could return to the castle and then I wandered around the town. I thought I had seen a Sainsburry's driving in. A woman pointed me toward a closer grocery store. It was right next to a Subway. Perfect. I had orange juice, digestives, and a spicy Italian sandwich. This Subway did not have all of the option we do, but it was pretty close to a Subway in the states.

Back to the castle!

One of the sections of the castle was a walk through of what it would be like to live in the castle during the nineteenth century. Certain areas felt very Downton Abbey, or almost Jane Austen. I loved it. I was not as big a fan of the wax figures though. At least they were better in this area of the castle than the medieval rooms. The lighting down there was very dim and the wax figures almost seemed to pop up behind you. Creepy! 

Vikings! 

Ellen, Ben, Raeni, Delanie, Jace, Dallin, and I

Jace is convinced I have this super power of being able to suddenly appear in the middle of groups. He never sees me coming, but then I am there. I don't recall trying to be particularly sneaky over the last few weeks, but it has happened several times. I'll take it.

Rose Garden. Nowhere near the exquisite Regents Garden, even though it was still pretty.

Down the hill and around the castle was a watermill. The turbine was pretty sweet. I'm impressed with how all the different time periods effecting the castle were represented. It was a true history lesson about Warwick Castle.

Across the hill was rock island. A giant catapult was set up there. We missed the two demonstrations of the day. Bummer. Back across the river I found a few more sinister areas. One tower is supposedly haunted by a man who was stabbed by a servant for not receiving enough money. Then I found this....

It means jail. I climbed down the trap door and into the dungeon. It was dark, damp, and not super pleasant to sniff. I felt bad for the people that had to live there. Hopefully it was only criminals and not just whoever the master was mad at.

Peacock Gardens. They really do own the place. This was especially for Elisabeth.

Finally, we have Stratford. Our bed and breakfast was on the street over from everyone else. I had the room downstairs with Sarah and Chelsea. Alli and Lindsey were directly above us. Tracy and Justyne were next to them.

The whole class went to see Henry the IV Part One after some free time and dinner. The production was by the Royal Shakespeare Company at their theatre. The show was great! We read the play in class before we saw the show. I loved how they portrayed all the characters and the set up of the stage was perfect. I want a stage like that. 

The gift shop in the building is fun. So are all of the costumes they have on display from other shows. I had to take pictures of all of them. I thought of Megan and Elizabeth the whole time.

Sweet Shops. The Corner Store is across the street from the RSC. Being out of London is significantly cheaper. Things close earlier too. This store was not as fancy as the other sweet shops we have been in, but they had an acceptable selection and cheaper goods. I have discovered most of the girls in the program are pretty serious about pre-show/intermission/post-show snacks. Yum.