Fortunately for us, the tour isn't fully booked and there are a number of free seats. Paul and I ended up near the back of the bus, but the whole row right across the back was free, and I spent most of the day (while we were travelling at least) in the back seat with my shoe off and my foot up on the seat.
First stop was Stratford on Avon - we saw the church where William Shakespeare is buried (free to go into the church but £2 each to actually see the grave) and the house he was born in. Unfortunately this was all done through teaming rain - I was very glad to get back onto the bus, and that pattern continued all day. Although there were times that it wasn't raining - and even a few brief moments of sunshine - any time we left the bus it bucketed down. Not fun at the best of times, and most definitely not fun when you're staggering around on crutches!
Next stop was Coventry - the old and new cathedrals. The old one of course is in ruins, pretty much as they were left after the bombing raid that destroyed much of it in November 1940. I found it to be a really moving experience, even in the dismal rain.
Then we basically travelled to York, with only a rest stop on the way. Yep, it rained there too, and we had to stay out of the bus for the full 30 minutes because of the rules around rest periods for the driver. Then it fined up again but on the way in to York it came down heavier than ever - the tour guide said that normally they'd take us on a quick trip around York before going to the hotel, but there was just no value in it today.
Tonight we're sleeping in the biggest bed we've ever had - I think they've joined a double and a single together - those are all full-size pillows!.
Paul is already sound asleep - my accident was really stressful for him and he's also not 100% well - both of us invariably catch a cold or flu early in a trip like this and I think he's getting his now :-(
The tour promises to be really good though - the coaches are deliberately set up with less seats and therefore more room (Paul couldn't actually reach the footrest!). The people all seem quite friendly, although I'm quite surprised at the national breakdowns -7 Australians, 4 Canadians, and 15 Americans. The surprise is the number of Americans - these tours are usually far more biased towards Australians and New Zealanders. Anyway, we had our introductory dinner this evening, and it was all very friendly. The Tour Director seems like a nice guy as well, so it's all looking good. Hopefully tomorrow I'll feel a little more like taking photos and the blog won't just be my boring ramblings again.....
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