to power-tourist is experience as much of a new place as is humanly possible within a short period of time, usually a few hours or a few days. power-tourists are exceedingly cheap for a couple reasons; one, because those with sufficient endurance and curiosity are usually young students and students, by definition, have no money, and two, because if they weren't exceedingly cheap and lacking in cash, they wouldn't have to power-tourist. they would stay in a real hotel, with sheets changed every day by french maids, sample a different restaurant at every meal, and thank the porter haughtily as he lifted their suitcases into the trunk of the cab waiting to shuttle them personally to the train station. the preferred mode of transportation for a power-tourist is a pair of feet, aided by a well-stocked stash of band-aids. they schedule 40-minute walks at 7am to the train station without giving it a second thought. the sampling of local cuisine is an essential part of any trip, so they supplement their bread and cheese or bread and nutella fare with one actual meal, purchased from and eaten at an actual restaurant. this is often the highlight of the trip.


over the next few days, I'll lay out in power-tourist style this week's trip to shakespeare country. it was awesome. there were skulls involved. and swords. and oubliettes. and three rolls of film, a whole lot of rain, and my entire supply of band-aids.

day 1: coventry

days 2 and 4: stratford-upon-avon

day 3: warwick