Christmas eve.

Today was an amazing day. Stacey, Aryn and I woke up early and walked over to a cafe called The Hungry Hobbit, where we ate elevenses. On the way to the cafe I had 'the road goes ever on and on' going through my head. In the cafe, there were pictures from Lord of the Rings on the walls and there was a Gollum statue wearing a santa outfit. It was very cute.

On the way to the Hungry Hobbit we stopped by Sarehole Mill, which used to be a childhood playground of the one and only J.R.R. Tolkien. The mill closed in November, so we won't able to go inside to the museum, but here's a picture!

Next to the mill, there is a little park called The Shire. After our morning adventures we spent some time in the park while we waited for Stacey's parents to pick us up.

Our next stop was Moseley Bog, which was stunningly beautiful. Stacey says it looks straight out of Lord of the Rings in the summer, but with the snow on the ground it was still quite beautiful. Here's just a few pictures. There is a little creek running through the bog with a boardwalk, and a lot of little paths and steps. There were some dogs running around through the trees, and we even helped find a lost dalmatian.

Lord of the Rings fan? (Ents rule)

A pretty impressive tree

After wandering through the bog and park, Stacey's parents picked us up and we went almost directly to a little town called Stratford-Upon-Avon. This is the town where Shakespeare was born and also where he is now buried.

This is the home he was born in. Around his home there are a bunch of little touristy shops. We only went into a little Christmas shop, and then we walked to the church where he is buried, and where we also attended a candlelight carol service.

The service we attended was wonderful. The choir sang two of my all time favorite choral pieces: Lux Aurumque by Eric Whitacre and O Magnum Mysterium by Morten Lauridsen. Both of the pieces I knew from being in concert choir in high school, and they were two of my favorites to sing. This was my first time hearing O Magnum live by a choir that wasn't my own. I loved it, even though I wanted to sing along the entire time. We did sing some traditional Christmas carols, but it still took me by surprise when the carols I know from back home were different in this country.
After the service had ended we went to the back of the church to find Shakespeare's grave. There wasn't anything that said where he was buried, so we asked someone. They pointed us to a very worn down looking part of the floor. There used to be writing on the tomb, but so many people have touched it and put down flowers and other items the writing has worn off.

There it is! It was interesting to see it after hearing and reading all about Shakespeare in high school.
The rest of this evening we have been enjoying good food and Elf.
It has been a very good Christmas eve. I couldn't think of a better way to spend it here.