Eye-candy Friday

Hall's Croft, in Stratford-Upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. This is another shot from that whirlwind business trip I took almost a year ago. Those four days rocked my world, I tell you.

This must be one of the most photographed buildings in England, I think, but for a good reason. It's a very attractive house -- I think I decided to take the photo before I knew what it was. Half-timbering has always been one of my favorite architectural styles; maybe it stirs some kind of ancestral memory or something. Anyway, Shakespeare's daughter lived in Hall's Croft with her husband, so of course it's considered important. I didn't get inside, because I had about three hours to see the town and I was afoot.

Warwick residents warned me away from visiting Stratford-Upon-Avon, telling me that it was not much more than a tourist trap. They were correct, to a certain extent; downtown was an overwhelming mix of really tacky shops and modern stores that you'd find in a mall anywhere in the United States. I walked away from the center of town toward Holy Trinity Church, where Shakespeare is buried, and in about two minutes I was out of the crowds and thrilling to the architecture and the atmosphere. I was one of about six people at the church, and had no problem visiting The Bard in his stony permanent home. While walking back uptown, I did get inside of Nash's House/New Place, which besides being another "Shakespeare Property" housed a very interesting small exhibition of ancient Britainiana. A few doors down, I found a wonderful small bakery with tea rooms, dashed in, and had cream tea with a scone and a bite of cake. After packing up some mincemeat pies to take home to the Emperor, I went into a National Trust shop and picked up a nifty purse-like canvas bag, which serves as my purse even now. Armed with these treasures, I ran for the bus and made it back to Royal Leamington Spa in time for my next business appointment. It was a Great Day Out.

I'll save my musings on authenticity and historic sites for another post.