Natalie-Upon-Avon

Today I made the great adventure to Tesco’s- the equivalent of a Walmart and Stop&Shop combo. It’s got all the food, wine, beer, clothes, minor electronics, drug store supplies, etc that you could ever want. Not particularly the most sustainable or friendly sort of place (like Walmart) but it was cheap, and while I’m here fighting the exchange rate, I might as well go for the cheap stuff. I managed to ring up £17.20 of food, which was quite a deal. Some stuff is much cheaper here, it seems, and others are more costly. I had a hard time finding sandwich turkey slices (I wasn’t brave enough to do the meat counter…I know how much a half pound of turkey feeds, but I didn’t want to try to order in metric! I guess I could have figured it out by the prices, but whatever. I found it pre-packed eventually). Also, tuna fish was a conundrum. It comes in either sunflower seed oil, brine, thousand island dressing, mayonnaise and corn (!?), or fresh water (what I wanted). It took me a good minute of standing there to locate the individual cans of fresh water stuff. They had tuna mixed with all sorts of other things too…vegetables (normal), pineapple (huh?), etc.

I suppose it’s a bit like going to the market in Canada- there are foods and brands that I recognize (Nature’s Trail Granola Bars! Nestle!) and others I am not sure of. There are LOTS of pork products. Pork pies, pork balls, ham ham and more ham in the meat aisle. Seafood is popular as a flavor (prawn crisps- aka prawn flavored chip snacks BLAH), I saw bacon-flavored crackers, and strange fruit flavorings (lots of black cherry, gooseberry, elderberry, etc).

My one splurge was a frozen Yorkshire pudding with beef filling. I’ll likely have it for dinner tomorrow and I am waiting in delightful anticipation. The thing was only like £2.50 but it was the most expensive individual item that I bought.

Last night I had cod fish and chips from a little hole-in-the-wall place down a side street of town. I came upon it completely by accident but it was worth it. For not too many quid I got a HUGE piece of greasy fried cod filet and a heaping pile of chips complete with salt and vinegar poured on top, all wrapped in white paper. Paired with a ginger beer (like…gingery soda), it was enough to satisfy me for the rest of the night as I sat on a bench in the shopping centre and picked away at it. In fact, it was really enough to feed a family and I only made a small dent in it. I felt bad about tossing it in the bin but it was too greasy and soaked to re-heat another day with good results. I think that’s probably my fill of fish and chips for the time here. Maybe I’ll try a place in London.

Yesterday, after my Starbucks update, I did about three hours walking and sightseeing around Stratford. I wandered the streets, peering at Shakespeare’s birthplace and coming down to the river Avon. The town is smaller than I expected and everything has been an easy walk. The weather is GORGEOUS. Perfectly sunny and not too hot or cold. I made my way to the little statue memorial for Shakespeare and then over a bridge on the river. There was a half-hour river cruise for £3 (A DEAL!) so I climbed on to the boat and took a leisurely motor back and forth, looking up at Old Trinity Church and all the swans and geese floating along with us. It’s no wonder RSC’s big theatre is called “The Swan”- there are swans all over the river bank at the foot of the theatre!

Last night, I came home excited and ready for a good sleep. I watched a bit of ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ (aka Dancing with the Stars...except I didn’t recognize any of these stars save for one guy who is a reporter!) with Trish and drank some sparkling Roset (yum!) before I plodded off to bed around 8:30pm. I had planned on reading, but the bed was SO comfortable and I basically passed out until 10am when my alarm woke me. And then it was off to Tesco, as you’ve already read about. Whew!

Today I plan to visit some of the big sights- Shakespeare’s house and gardens, Old Trinity Church, and the Courtyard Theatre (where I’ll likely find some internet connection to post this- I’m writing it in Word in my room on Percy St). I also plan to try to find a little something for Kirsten, mum, and Amanda. Maybe Marcus too if there is something I think he’ll like, but I think I’ll find something in London more his speed. Dad too.

PS- actually, I'm updating from the lobby of the Best Western! While looking for a coffee shop that I know has free Wi-Fi, I actually found this place that I'd seen as a free WiFi spot online too. YIPPEE!

Lots more photos on my facebook!

Bye! <3>