D06: London-Coventry (My Birthday!)

So day 1 of our 12 day Cosmos bus tour started today, which also just happened to be my birthday, so "Happy Birthday to me".
I was up early to get myself organised and have my bags out ready for collection at 6:30am. I had a few text messages during the night with birthday wishes (time difference people!!!). Only kidding, I really appreciated hearing from everyone.
I called mum just after 6am to get the latest. She was scheduled for some key-hole surgery tomorrow, and it looks like the big op will take place next Tuesday. I start to feel a bit guilty that I'm here enjoying myself, but I know mum wants me to be stay, so at this point in time I'm going to enjoy it.
After breakfast I did the final check of the room to make sure I didn't leave anything behind.
It was then down to the lobby to meet the Tour Director (Paul Barton) and our Driver (Andy). Once on the bus, I sat on the drivers side about 3 rows back. I got two seats to myself so I can stretch out.
As we leave London, the weather is a little overcast and I'm hoping that this isn't a sign of things to come.
We had a photo-stop at Hampton Court. The gardens were gorgeous, and although there was a little bit of rain, it really wasn't a problem.

Once back on the bus, our guide Paul told us about an opportunity we had to see a Military Tattoo at Windsor Castle on the night we get back to London at the end of the tour. It's the first time a Tattoo has been held at Windsor and it's being put together by the same people that do the one in Edinburgh. The tour company's got about 40 seats and it'll be on a first come, first served basis. It's on for three nights, and we'd be there for the final night. The added bonus is that a member of the royal family will be in attendance on each night, but they can't tell us who will be there on the final night. I decided to go given didn't have any other plans for that night. It should be fun...
In wasn't long after this that we actually drove past Windsor Castle on our way to Oxford. It looks just like it does on TV (how surprising???).

We arrived in Oxford in time for lunch. The place had a really nice feel to it, and even though it's only day one of the tour, I'm blown away by the architecture of this place. My first observations were the number of bikes in the place - they're everywhere!

After lunch, we were back on the bus. We made a bit of an unscheduled stop in the small village of Bladon, where in the grounds of the Parish Church of St Matin's, Sir Winston Churchill and his wife, Clementine are buried. It was Sir Winston's wish to be buried in a corner of this country churchyard, near his birthplace at Blenheim Palace.

Then it was onto a photo-stop at Anne Hathaway's Cottage at Shakespeare's Stratford-upon-Avon. This also doubled as the "official" group photo shoot. We then had a couple of hours to explore the town.

It was then back onto the bus for the trip to Coventry. We went straight to the hotel which was fairly new, so the rooms were nice and big. Dinner was included tonight. Noelene bought me a birthday drink, so I was able to celebrate with my new tour-mates.
To see all my photos from today click here.
Hotel details -
Ramada Coventry Hotel
(Kay's hotel rating - Very good)