【莎翁故鄉】行前記 + 兩天一夜行程－il Giardino Romantico

夢寐以求的莎翁故鄉Stratford-upon-Avon終於可如願實現了。計畫這趟朝聖行程簡直是一波三折。起初我是打算一個人獨行。但在看到 B&B價目之後覺得一個人獨行實在太不划算了。因此開始找朋友同行。起初，第一位找的朋友跟我說若是七月底以後她都沒問題。但偏偏我原本是想計畫在七月結束前就完成此行程。原本想放棄找夥伴的念頭，因為這趟旅程對我來說無比的重要。但後來跟同學們提起後，居然有兩位同學說有意願想一起去。接下來我們約了個時間到，上網查火車票以及住宿價格。火車票是小case。重點是我們打算住的B&B，在原定的那天已經客滿。往後推一個星期，我看到八月初還有空的三人房，為了節省經費，才決定延期。而其中一位同學還提議說她可以開車帶我們去。油錢分攤，算起來比火車票便宜許多。

不料，就在一切都決定好以後，那位提議要開車的同學竟然說她的預算估計錯誤。所以可能沒辦法去。她說，看我們要不要先找人看可否跟我們同行。這樣除了買火車票之外，住宿方面也不用做任何更改。由於改到了八月，我救回想到之前那位朋友。但好巧不巧，她那天正好也有事情無法改期。後來那位要開車的同學只好自我犧牲，但讓我跟另外一位同學還是可以依照原本的計畫出發。

這次的旅程可以說除了倫敦之外，我絕對不可不去的景點之一。無論是同學們或是老闆都同意，我念的這個MA對於沒有去過Stratford-upon-Avon的人來說，根本就不算完整。就像你來英國，沒吃過fish and chips，不能說你有來過英國一樣的道理。其他地方可去可不去。但這裡對於我的英國的目的、我的領域、我的論文，佔了非常重要的地位。

Finally! My dream of visiting Shakespeare's hometown is about to be fulfilled. It wasn't easy planning this trip, since I gave up on the thought of travelling on my own there for financial reasons. That's why I started to scout for a possible partner. The first friend told me that if I go in August, she could come. But at that time, I wanted to do this before the end of July. Then, I almost gave up on the thought of finding a partner to come with me. Fortunately, my course mates showed interest in going. However, once we checked the train fares and accommodation prices, we found out that the only room available for three people was in the first week of August. Once we decided to postpone our trip due to that, everything went pretty well. One of my friends even offered to drive us there. Apparently sharing the cost of petrol would be a lot cheaper than going on the train.

However! Once everything was all ready and set, the friend who offered to drive decided she had to back out for financial reasons. She asked us to see if we could find someone to take her place, so we could still have the room, but all we had to do was buy train tickets. Well, I asked the friend I had initially asked, but unfortunately she had already made plans for that day. Oh well. In the end, the driver friend decided to sacrifice a few quid so that we could still have our three-person room and could still depart according to our plan.

This trip is ultimately one of the most important trips for me, other than London. People in our course and our professors would all agree, that you can't do an MA in Shakespeare without visiting Stratford-upon-Avon. The MA would be incomplete. It's like coming to the UK and not once, ever trying fish and chips. There are many places in the UK that I don't really care if I ever get to go and visit. As my choice is very limited due to financial reasons, this is one that is inevitably crucial and can't afford to miss out on.

以下是初步計畫的行程：
This is the itinerary for our two days in Stratford:

Day 1
13:20 抵達
Arrive in Stratford-upon-Avon

Holy Trinity Church and Shakespeare's Grave --> Shakespeare Institute --> Royal Shakespeare Theatre --> Swan Theatre

Day 2

Anne Hathaway's Cottage --> Hall's Croft --> Nash's House --> Harvard House --> Shakespeare's Birthplace --> Shakespeare Centre --> [Mary Arden's House]

18:50 離開
Depart from Stratford-upon-Avon

安排行程必看：Shakespeare Houses Website
超值優惠套票：Shakespeare Houses Tickets