We arrived in the breakfast room to find that the advertised continental breakfast was exactly as advertised, unlike our previous hotel where several components of the continental breakfast were missing. I couldn’t miss out on the opportunity even though the vegetarian breakfast was also tempting. I wasn’t disappointed.
After breakfast, as planned, we had a chilly but leisurely mooch around the town before having lunch in Huffkins. I chose a Belgian bun, which was tasty, but I had forgotten how sticky the icing on top is! Surprisingly one of the Waitresses recognised us from our previous visits.
Our planned adventure for the afternoon was the Butterfly Farm which was busier than on our previous visits. I felt a bit crowded out when we first arrived which wasn’t helped by a gentleman who followed me round as I was trying to take photographs; he too was looking for perfect photo opportunities. I think it might have been the half term holiday which starts a week earlier in Stratford than in my local schools.
There were lots of interesting creatures hiding in plain view in the tropical house, including a red kneed tarantula who unusually was at the front of his safe cave and slowly moving his fangs. The cayman, once again did not realise that I had come to visit and was hiding away in his sleeping quarters.
We returned to Brook Tavener where Mr C had purchased a jacket the previous day. He bought the same jacket in a different colour. It was now time to return to the hotel for a warming cup of tea and a chill out before pre-theatre dining in the Giggling Squid. I chose sticky chicken which was delicious and chose the appropriately named (for Valentine’s Day) Melting Heart Chocolate. Unfortunately, when it arrived it was the full-sized version rather than the small portion ordered, reminding me that the service had been a little bit quirky on our previous visit there. We had a date with Hamlet at the RSC so there wasn’t time to rectify the mistake.
Photo copywrite of the RSC (Hamlet promotional material)
The stage was stunning in the shape of a ship with water around the bows and a video of waves and horizon to the stern. The first half is scene setting where the story is told. The second half, which is more dramatic, saw the stage tilt back and forth with the stormy sea and dramatic culmination of the story.
We returned to the hotel to have a nightcap in the bar to find that our favourite seats had just been taken, as were all the other seats in the bar area. We retired to another seating area which is lovely, albeit quieter than the bar area.
We were joined by others including two gay couples (including an American and a German) who discussed the recent election of Trump and related politics of the situation. Their discussion was to loud to tune out, but at least it was interesting.
