Day 7: Shakespeare and London. What a great combination!

Our Jack the Ripper Tour Group

First, let me apologize, well over half of my pictures from today are lost in my phone somewhere.  If I access the phone's memory, I can see the photographs, but I cannot seem to transfer them into any usable format for this blog.  It has consumed way too much of my time tonight and I hope you all understand.

Frustration aside, we woke this morning in Coventry and had a proper English breakfast...buffet.  We had quite a few options that included bacon, sausages, eggs (scrambled or fried), potatoes (two ways), and much, much more.  I only had one plate, but I think we might have had some kids grab seconds.  After breakfast, we boarded the bus and headed off towards Stratford-upon-Avon.  Our first stop was the house of Anne Hathaway.  Don't get too excited, it isn't the house of the popular movie star, but instead the family home of William Shakespeare's wife.  The house was originally built in the mid-1400s, but what we saw was mostly built in the late 1500s.  The time period isn't that far off from the founding of Saugus!

It was a nice house and garden.  I took some of my best pictures there, lol.

After Anne's house, we headed towards William's house.  The house was definitely old, but was really cool to walk through.  I was able to tell the girls the origins of the "sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite" phrase.  Outside of the residence, we saw some players reciting Romeo and Juliet...but they expertly reversed the roles. Juliet looked an awful lot like me...just check out the picture below.

We had a lunch break in Stratford-upon-Avon. Some of the girls went to a little cafe, others hit up Subway, and I grabbed a kabob sandwich.  It wasn't even photo-worthy, lol.  We stopped along Henley St. and posed for photos by the Jester statue.  When the whole group reconvened, we departed for London.

Our hotel is a Ramada and has some modern amenities, but it is still a bus ride away from the downtown area.  Joseph directed us to the Westminster Chapel...not the Abbey. We had a bit of free time and so we took off into the church.

St. Patrick's Chapel within the Cathedral

Eventually, we all got back together and headed off to dinner.  We had fish and chips.  Not everyone tried as much as I would have liked to see, but those who ate it liked it more than they thought.  I even ate my entire dinner.

When dinner concluded, our whole group separated into two.  Some of the kids went to a Harry Potter Walking Tour and others on the Jack the Ripper Tour. The Saugus contingent all settled on Jack the Ripper. They were not disappointed.  Fred Strangbone, our guide, is amazing. I've had the pleasure of touring with him four times and the kids have always loved his performance.  It is a combination of humor, quirkiness, and horror. 

Our night came to a close with nearly 8 miles under our belt today.  We've had a lot of bus time on this trip, but today, we worked off those late night pizza slices. I wish I had more photos for everyone, but I couldn't make it happen.  I am sorry.

When I first started this blog, I think I always explained to parents that we were at the mercy of my technological expertise...tonight, I am disappointed that things didn't work out.  I hope to figure out the issue tomorrow...and will make changes along the way.  Thanks for understanding everyone.