King Arthur and Shakespeare

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Geo: 52.1906, -1.70788

After breakfast in the dining room of nice-but-uncomfortable-talking-to-strangers hostess lady, we loaded up and drove to <a href="http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/tintagel" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Tintagel</a>. Really fabulous ruins, and amazing location. Mom, Julie & Katie opted to not face the steep, wet, rickety steps down the hill (wonder why not?), and went into town for shopping instead. Sara and I grabbed the handrail and descended doooown one side and waaay up the other. I wasn't so sure my knees would really forgive me, but I'm glad I did it. The coastline was fantastic!
We grabbed some souvenirs and headed off toward Stratford, I'll bet the countryside was really pretty, but we couldn't see much of it because of the 8-foot hedgerows that divide the countryside up. Those things also make it a bit tricky to see when other vehicles are coming 'round the bend at you, so I think I frightened the back seat more than they would have preferred. We stopped for lunch in Launceston and had our first introduction to a true Devonshire cream tea. Yummy!

Even at pretty decent speeds on the M5, it took us about 3 hours to get to Stratford. We checked in to the <a href="http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g186399-d192852-r1737103-Falcon_Hotel-Stratford_upon_Avon_Warwickshire_England.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Falcon Hotel</a>. Since there were no twin rooms in the old section of the hotel, Mom & Julie and Sara & Katie took those rooms in the new section. I felt guilty at once again taking the single, but since I was the only one under 5'6", it was just as well. When they say "old", they mean old. I don't know exact dates, but I'll wager Kit Marlowe could very well have stayed in this room.
 
We strolled down the street and had a bite of dinner, then found our seats at the <a href="http://www.rsc.org.uk" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">RSC</a> for Macbeth. Fabulous show - although we'd have enjoyed it more had we realized that there would be no intermission (could have hit the loos first). Great set -- a single, oversized wall that they pivoted for a scene here and there, and some great lighting effects. Really allowed you to concentrate on the acting and the storyline. Sara and I had a couple of pints of cider in the Falcoln's pub afterward, then off to bed.

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