Dydd Sul - 10 Gorfennaff 2011

First, a bit of trivia about Wales. Cymru is the Welsh name for Wales. Wales comes from wallas, the Anglo-Saxon word for foreigner or stranger and cymru is the Welsh word for comrade/friend. Isn't that interesting? I love that the people of Wales were so banded together.

Alright, traveling adventures on Sunday! Sunday was fun but I did have a slight headache all day which put a mild damper on things. We started off the day by visiting Gloucester Cathedral. This is where they filmed a lot of scenes in Hogwarts in the Harry Potter movies. Look at my pictures and then watch the second movie. Yes, the hallway that the heir of Slytherin left his (her!) messages on is in Gloucester Cathedral and I saw them! Regardless of that it was a gorgeous church. I loved the tall arches with their gothic points and fannned marble tops. The stained glass was a treat too! We also passed a cute shop dedicated to Beatrix Potter called "The Tailor of Gloucester. She was originally from Gloucester which means that is where her books were first published. I have always loved her stories and water color paintings.

Next, we went to some LDS church history sites. The first is a little church called Gadfield Elms. The chapel is the oldest, dedicated LDS chapel still standing in the world. It was very small and quaint. The history behind Gadfield Elms is that the chapel was originally owned by the United Brethren. Their whole congregation was converted in the 1800s by Wilford Woodruff and his companion in 1836. That's over 100 men! The fellowshipping continued from there. Gadfield Elms was a very special, reverent building.

We continued a little further up to Benrow Pond at Hill Farm. This is where Wilford Woodruff baptized hundreds of people. It has a beautiful plaque explaining the history and I just felt so proud of the work that my Great-Great-Great-Great Grandfather helped to bring forth. Whenever I learn about the faithful people earnestly searching for the truth and then so quickly and readily accepting the gospel I am touched by the Spirit. That feeling came over me at both Gadfield Elms and Benrow Pond. They were both very special places.

We continued from there to get lost but eventually made it to Stratford-upon-Avon. This is the town where William Shakespeare was born and where he died. Ergo, the town was very much geared toward tourists. There were many cute, little shops, and a few not-so-cute money sinkholes. A meandering river is bordered by parks where people were all layed out in lawn chairs and on blankets. Long and low-ceiling boats gave rides and sailed on the river. We walked all around the main streets and visited quite a few of the shops. I found a sweet Christmas store. 168 days till Christmas!

The monument for The Bard

You can't see the sign but the store is called "The Nutcracker"

Then we moved onto the Shakespeare sites. We visited Shakespeare's grave in the Holy Trinity Church and I looked at the original registers listing his death and his birth! I was surprised by how humble (for someone as famous as he was) his grave was. Sure it had a fabulous, expensive location but there were really hardly any ornaments or decorations on it. I've learned since that even though Shakespeare was massively famous in his day he was comfortable, not enormously wealthy. He had to pay for his, and his families burials out of his own pocket.

We also took a little bit of time to visit Anne Hathaway's (his wife's) cottage, complete with thatched roof. While some of the cottage had been reconstructed most of it was the real deal. I can hardly believe buildings that old are still standing! The garden surrounding the cottage was magically beautiful. Flowers in all sizes and colors burst out of flower beds bordered by meandering walk ways. The English know how to garden - I've never seen anything like it. 

We also made a stop into the Guild Hall in Stratford. I love seeing the things I've learned about. The guild hall was significant because it represented the wealth and power that guilds had in the middle ages. They were a real force to be reckoned with! The hall was pretty but mostly I just cared about why it had been built. I was interested in the frescoes that had been lost during excavation. They depicted St. Helen's journey to retrieve the Cross from Jerusalem. I'm sure they would have been lovely.

That's about it for Sunday. Although I had absolutely no time to relax this weekend, everything I saw was 100% percent worth being exhausted Monday morning. Next weekend is London and the exploration of Cardiff, so stay tuned.

Missing you,

Mariah