The Thirteen Shakespeare suicides – at the RSC in Stratford-upon-Avon

One of the delights of visiting the Royal Shakespeare Theatre at Stratford-upon-Avon is that even if you’re not seeing a play, there’s always some free exhibition to enjoy as you explore the theatre building. As I was meeting a friends for lunch at the Arden Hotel, just opposite the theatre, we popped over to look at the Thirteen exhibition of photographic images by George Chakravarthi.

The premise of this artistic project is to capture the spirit of the thirteen unfortunate Shakespearean characters who committed suicide in his plays, for love, passion, honour or pride. The artist, George Chakravarthi takes the part of every character both male and female, dressing up in costume and the resulting photographs are overlaid with other images of texture and colour.

The free exhibition is in the Swan room of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, which you can enter through the Victorian entrance opposite the Arden Hotel and up the stairs immediately to the right. The room is in darkness, with each of the large images displayed backlit with striking effect.

We found the images rich and thought provoking – and even more interesting when you watch the video in which the artist George Chakravarthi explains his thought process for creating each character – watch the video here on Youtube.

Visitor Information

The Thirteen exhibition by George Chakravarthi is in the Swan Room at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre at Stratford-upon-Avon until 29 April 2012. Find more information about this and other exhibitions on the RSC website.

More things to enjoy in Stratford-upon-Avon

Afternoon tea at the Arden with Romeo and Juliet
Season and Wild – at the Waterside Brasserie, Arden Hotel in Stratford-upon-Avon
The Tower and other transformations – at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon

www.flickr.com heatheronhertravels’ Stratford-upon-Avon photoset

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Riding the Unicorn in the Mirabell Gardens – Salzburg

On a summer’s day in August back in 1967 my family spent a day or two sightseeing in Salzburg. There were 3 little girls, Heather Mary (the sensible one), Jennifer (the naughty one with ginger hair and freckles) and Jillian (the baby of the family). Here we are having fun riding the stone unicorns at the steps of the Mirabell Gardens.

We were there on one of our camping holidays having spent most of the holiday in Istria in Croatia near Rovinj, which was at that time part of Yugoslavia. We drove back via Austria to spend a couple of nights camping near Salzburg and had a look around the Hohensalzburg fortress as well as the Mirabell Gardens. As my Dad said, with three little girls it was all about ice creams and finding toilets, and I’m amazed that we even saw much of the sites.

Roll on 40 years or more and here I am again, this time visiting with my husband and one of my three children, having a ride on the same unicorn. The scene hasn’t changed so very much has it?

And what about this famous picture postcard shot of the gardens looking through the wrought iron gates (the unicons are just inside on either side) and across the formal gardens towards the Hohensalzburg Fortress on the hill in the background. I wonder whether the gardens were laid out just so to frame that view. Yes, that’s me playing with my sister on the steps in the foreground.

If you’re a Sound of Music fan, you’ll remember Julie Andrews and her Von Trapp children running and dancing through the avenue of clipped trees straight ahead, where now there are plenty of benches to sit in the shade.

Do you have any photos of your younger self that you managed to recreate on a later visit?

These photos are posted as part of Photo Friday hosted over at Delicious Baby – head over to see all the other great photos.

Check out this great video about Salzburg, Innsbruck and Graz as well as the other videos about Holidays in Austria

For more information about Holidays in Austria visit the Austrian Tourism Website and follow them on Twitter @Austria_UK

My thanks to the Austria National Tourism Office UK for sponsoring our trip to Salzburg and Wolfgangsee

 

 

www.flickr.com heatheronhertravels’ Salzburg – Mirabell gardens photoset

 

This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com – Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home

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Apartment Living on Laystall St with StayManchester – video

I’ve slept everywhere from a tent in the back garden to a luxury hotel, but I must admit that serviced apartments such as the  Laystall Apartments by StayManchester.com were a new experience for me.

Once the industrial powerhouse of the north of England, Manchester is full of old warehouses that once manufactured the goods that were sent all over Britain’s colonial empire. With Britain’s industrial decline, the old mills and warehouses have fallen silent silent but many have been renovated and converted into modern apartment buildings.

Although the Laystall Street Apartments are in a modern rather than old building, the conversion of old warehouses seems to make Manchester an ideal city for serviced apartments as an alternative to hotel accommodation. Of course many groups of friends come to Manchester for the football, concerts, shopping or nightlife and are looking for somewhere they can stay together that will also be good value, so serviced apartments fit the bill perfectly.

If you can’t see the embedded video above, view it on my blog here

At the Laystall Apartments I found our 10th floor apartment was a cross between a hotel with 24 hour reception and a show home with two double bedrooms, one with en suite shower room and a second bathroom.

The decor was the latest look with a colour scheme of cappuccino with a twist of lime. My en suite double bedroom had a comfortable bed with crisp white bed-linen, a brown leather headboard and dark wood furniture.

Beside the bed was an elegant silver string lampshade and a radio alarm clock, useful if you’re in Manchester on business although I can’t see the party crowd would be wanting an early morning wake up call.

There was a proper wardrobe with extra quilts and pillows and a normal hairdryer (as opposed to those horrid wall mounted ones) for getting ready for those nights out on the town. The pictures in both the bedroom and the living area were night-time cityscape pictures of Manchester. I must admit that the city looks a lot prettier at night with all those twinkling light that it does in the daytime with a view of the retail park opposite and the surrounding industrial landscape.

Laystall Apartments from staymanchester.com

Laystall Apartments from staymanchester.com

The bathroom was also ultra modern with white tiles and black polished surfaces, modern chrome fittings and a pale aqua glass bath surround, and there was some hotel style miniature shampoo and soap. The living and dining area was large enough to throw a party with a chocolate leather sofa and chair that turned into a sofa bed and a Samsung flat screen TV.

The glass dining room table seated six people with a bowl of fruit and some bottled water to keep us going and wrap around windows with a great view over the city warehouses. The red kitchen with grey surfaces was an impressive size with all the fittings and equipment that you’d expect in your kitchen at home. For those who are staying a few days, the washing machine in the apartment was also a bonus and there is also free wifi in the apartment.

It seemed rather a shame that as I was out for most of the time at the Travel Bloggers Unite conference, I didn’t get the chance to have a few friends round for dinner or throw a wild party. I was sharing with fellow blogger Abi King, who was coming down with a nasty cold, so we were rather the party poopers and used the apartment as a convenient base, rather than making the most of all the space.

Laystall Apartments from staymanchester.com

Laystall Apartments from staymanchester.com

If there were any downsides it might only be that the location is down a quiet side street and I felt a little nervous walking back to late at night, although on the plus side it’s only a 10 minute walk from the Picadilliy train station and 10 minutes the other way into the Northern Quarter. There is an Aldi supermarket close by where you can stock up on necessities, but otherwise you’ll have to walk at least 10 minutes to get to any coffee shops or restaurants.

The other thing to be aware of is that Manchester is known for its nightlife, so if you’re not a party animal I’d suggest you request a quieter apartment on a higher floor or facing away from the street as groups of clubbers coming back late (or early depending on how you look at it) can be noisy.

Now I’ve tried the serviced apartment experience I’ll be seeking it out more regularly, especially when travelling with friends, and I’d definitely recommend the Laystall Apartments from StayManchester.com as a stylish and comfortable alternative to a hotel. I received a discounted rate from StayManchester.com but the normal rate for our 2 bed apartment was around £159 per night, which is excellent value if shared between 2 couples and certainly cheaper than a hotel of a similar standard.

You can check prices and book Laystall Apartments from StayManchester on their website here

Read what my flatmate Abi King had to say -StayManchester.com – An Independent Review

 

 

www.flickr.com heatheronhertravels’ Manchester photoset

 

This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com – Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home

You’ll also find our sister blog with tips on how to build a successful travel blog at My Blogging Journey

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