First stop for us was Anne Hathaway's Cottage and colourful gardens in Cottage Lane, Shottery. While a picturesque corner of England, we realised how lonely her days must have been in running the farm and bringing up a family while hubbie Will (they married in 1582) was away in London making a name for himself as a poet and playwright.
The enthusiastic guides from Shakespeare Birthplace Trust have plenty of history to relate. Among the snippets we learn is that William Shakespeare and Anne married rather hurriedly because she was about three months pregnant at the nuptials. She also was a cradle-snatcher, being seven years his senior at 28.
While walking through the original cottage and later additions, we see a "courting chair" engraved with the initials WS that was found quite by accident at an auction and bought for a price far below what could be expected. Its link to William Shakespeare was unknown to the sellers who had used it as a humble coat rest in the family home's hallway.
Later that night, we had a Shakespeare Ale, a bottle of wine and a steak in the oldest pub in town, The Garrick Inn, part of which dates back to the 1400s.
The pub is named after the English actor and playwright John Garrick and the front bar was around in the time of Shakespeare himself (he died on his birthday, April 23, in 1616 at the age of 52).
We visited the grave of The Bard and photographed his painted bust in Holy Trinity Church by the River Avon, and walked around the Royal Shakespeare Company's waterside theatre complex where As You Like It and Titus Andronicus are being performed.
While in Stratford, we also took in Hall's Croft - the home of Shakespeare's daughter Susannah and her husband Dr John Hall, Shakespeare's birthplace and the Gower Memorial and Jester statues erected to commemorate his life.
A Five House Pass for Shakespeare enthusiasts offers entry to his birthplace, Mary Arden's Farm, Nash's House and New Place, Hall's Croft and Shakespeare's grave.
Staying with our Shakespearean theme, I couldn't recommend a place to lay our heads more highly than Twelfth Night Guest House. Host Annie welcomes you with tea or coffee and scones with jam and cream on the patio on a nice day, attends to your every need and offers a local's advice on places of interest and where to relax, eat, dink and be merry.
I also recommend her full English breakfast and smoked salmon and scrambled egg croissant the next morning in the sunny dining room's bay window.
But just as important in this Tudor town is to enjoy some downtime beside that picturesque River Avon.
Today's lesson: Try to control my exuberance and not want to pack so much into one day to sustain our sanity for 101 nights of this. Also remember to ask if rib fillet is included in the steak deal before having to pay an extra £10 and cry into our beers.
Squirrel count: 8
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