STRATFORD-UPON-AVON

Our UK tour started when we headed to Stratford from London by bus. The journey lasted around 2 hours and the first thing we did when we arrived at Stratford-Upon-Avon was to see a commemorative statue dedicated to the famous writer William Shakespeare and some of the characters from his productions. In case you didn't know, Stratford is the city where he was born and lived for a significant part of his life. We walked to the river bank towards the church of the  “Holy Trinity”.  If you ever visit this city,  try to do this activity during hours in which the sun  is not so bright, even though there is some shade from the trees, it can get really hot!

 Once at the church , our guide, Andrew, told us about its history and the people who were buried there, like William Shakespeare, his wife and children. He mentioned that usually you can go inside, but on this occasion, we couldn't because they were celebrating a wedding. After visiting the church, we walked through the city on our way to what is believed to be the old school of the famous writer William Shakespeare and the chapel that his father used to manage. Next to the school (which nowadays is a bar!), we saw the place where William Shakespeare's house used to be, but which  was demolished many years ago. Around the area where the writer's house once stood, we could observe the old architecture of the city and how the houses were built in those days.

Our guide Andrew also took us to the center of Stratford where we enjoyed a traditional lunch. Our recommendation is to try to go away from the downtown area to eat, as prices in the center tend to be slightly higher. After 2 hours of exploring the city on our own, we had to return to the meeting point to continue our trip towards Liverpool. But not before trying the traditional fudge and visiting the souvenir shop in Stratford specially dedicated to William Shakespeare.

LIVERPOOL

After our visit to Stratford we took the coach all the way up to Liverpool. It is a very big city with many things to see, for example some of the various museums, like the Tate, the Liverpool History Museum or The Beatles Museum, all of which are located quite near, not only to each other but also to “The Three Graces”, Liverpool’s most important buildings, which are The Royal Liver Building, The Cunard Building and the Port of Liverpool Building, which were essential for Liverpool’s growth. 

We also went to the city center to have dinner. 

The next day we woke up and headed straight to the Liverpool’s football stadium, Anfield. We managed to get inside by taking a guided tour through the facility and its different parts and history behind it, we learned about the players and the numerous tournaments the team  has won. Overall, it was a very interesting experience. It did not last long though, as we needed to keep traveling to our next destination: York.

YORK

After the amazing time in Liverpool, we arrived in York’s hotel in the evening  and afterwards we went for a walk around the city.  As the weather was nice,  we took food from the supermarket - like salads, sandwiches and fruit - to a park, had a picnic  and then went back to the hotel and went to sleep. 

In the morning, after breakfast, we went on a guided walking tour  and our first stop was York’s Castle and Clifford's Tower, which was amazing and the gothic architecture was super beautiful. We continued to the York Wall, which is very old and we could have beautiful views from there. Then we went to York Minster, which is an amazing church with gothic architecture and has a lot of details. Afterwards, we went to the city center to walk and discover.  

Our recommendation is to watch the Harry Potter films before the trip because the author was inspired by some of the streets of York to create some scenes.

This new experience brought us unforgettable memories which we will remember forever. This isn't just about the places, but it is also about the life experience that we had with the people we love: our classmates and friends. For sure, this was not our first and only time in Stratford, Liverpool orYork, since we wish to come back some day.