Still in Stratford and the driving has gotten easier. I have gotten the "opposite side of the road" thing down, which is good because the roads to today's destination were narrow and winding.

Location: Another of the famous homes in Shakespeare Country, Anne Hathaway's cottage. In this home, a young Anne Hathaway grew up and eventually went on to marry William Shakespeare. Lucky gal!

The house is straight out of a storybook, thatched roof and all. It's even become somewhat of an unofficial symbol of England, printed on tea towels and chocolates.

As I walked through the house it became easy to imagine a young William Shakespeare coming to visit Anne before they were married. Our tour guide, Charles, shared with us a few stories that surrounded William and Anne's courtship and marriage. Upstairs, the house holds a very famous piece of furniture. This is known as "the second best bed" and it is mentioned is Shakespeare's will. However, we had been warned about its authenticity. So much about Shakespeare's life has to be considered with a degree of caution because there is a huge gap in the written record.

I think I like the idea of a young William Shakespeare traveling to Anne's house to try out some of his sonnets her. Perhaps that is how he won her over. I enjoyed the early morning solitude at Anne Hathaway's cottage. We were done before Charles had to open the house up to visitors for the day.

More tomorrow,

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