Today was mostly a travel day. Along the way we stopped at Oxford for a tour of a few of the 37 Colleges that make up Oxford University. Our bus driver was a dud, and I thought our awesome travel agent Kim Bourke (Bourke Travel out of Seattle) was going to hurt him. If you think Tae Kwon_Do players are tough, wait until you see a disappointed travel agent!
We had a tour guide who was knowledgeable, but a "low talker" who never waited for the group to all arrive before whispering his nuggets of Oxford trivia. Despite that, the tour was a highlight for sure. It was interesting to learn that Mr. Bean (Rowan Atkins) is an Oxford Grad with a masters in Electrical Engineering!
After that we headed down the road to Stratford on Avon (Birthplace of Shakespeare). Very cool, and a must see. Six of our group are going back on Saturday to watch a Shakespearean play. Not only am I shocked that I could convince Mr. Nonomura to come to England, but now Shakespeare? If he starts quoting Macbeth, I'll eat my hat....
Attached is a picture of the longest established coffee house in England - 1654. Starbucks- eat your heart out.
We ended the day in Coventry, which so far seems to be the armpit of the British Empire. Wait, that is kind of an insult to armpits. Once there, we checked into the tournament. That was a gong show, with semi-clad people of both genders stripping down to underwear (and less) to try to make weight. A few of our team had to travel to a nearby sports centre and "sauna" off the last few pounds. Eventually everyone made their weight.
Our hotel is nice, but the internet is sketchy. I will try to update daily, but it might be hard.
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