Catching Up: May 28, 2011 Bath!!!

Beautiful bus ride to Bath.

Andy and I got up and out really early today to catch our bus to Bath!!! We were both so excited and so exhausted, but the drive out was too beautiful to sleep through. So, we fought it valiantly.

When we got to Bath, we walked through Bath Abbey and it was gorgeous. The fan vaulting was more beautiful in this cathedral than any other we've seen...so far. And there was a memorial for an American senator there! What?!

In front of Bath Abbey.

Fan vaulted ceilings!!!

After we finished gazing up at the glorious abbey ceilings, we decided to brave the queue for the Roman Baths. It didn't seem like too long of a wait because of the awesome street performers. They were a band with a man playing guitar and singing and a woman playing a percussion box. Waiting in line made me notice that the pigeons in Bath are psycho.  There were way too many scary situations where I thought the birds would land on my head.

The main bath with Bath Abbey in the background.
Photo by Andy

We got into the Baths and...they were just as amazing, if not more so, as when I was a kid. To make the experience even better, Andy was thrilled by the whole thing! He was fascinated! It was cool as a kid, but this time I was intrigued by the history behind it all. That the natural spring and the Roman foundations and remains survived over 2,000 years! The spring itself is amazing to me...just how it sprung up and then remained warm for thousands of years is incredible.

My favorite bath this time was the circle bath. It is the cold pool that people jumped into after a hot bath to close their pores. The pool was filled with shining and glimmering coins that, with the cool water, cast soothing shadows on the dark walls.

The Circle Bath.

After the baths, Andy and I opened our umbrellas and briskly walked over to Sally Lunn's to escape the rain and to enjoy the original Bath buns. To our dismay, the waiting line was down the hall and out the door. But, as I told Andy, Sally Lunn's is an essential Bath experience. So, we waited...not for too long, fortunately. We were seated on the cosy third floor by a window. I got the Jane Austen Cream Tea with Darjeeling...which meant I got a bun with a TON of homemade raspberry jam. Andy got the Sally Lunn Cream Tea with House Blend Tea...which meant a bun with strawberry jam. He liked it, but not more than scones. Understandable. We hung out there, talked and sipped our tea until the weather cleared up.

We trekked up to the fashion museum and...wow...that was much more interesting as a kid. The outfits were just a bit tacky this time around.

Luckily, we headed right over to the Royal Crescent afterwards through the beautiful park. We stopped by a little Georgian garden on the way with the most adorable flowers called Campanula Persicifula.

He loves climbing walls to see the beautiful gardens on the other side.

This makes me smile!

We continued walking the path to the Royal Crescent. Once we got close, I made Andy close his eyes while I led him to the middle of the huge lawn in front. He opened his eyes and a HUGE smile took over his face. He was completely surprised. The Royal Crescent was ten times more magnificent than my young memory allowed.

Bath in general was very different than I remembered.

After the Royal Crescent experience, I had to get over to the Jane Austen museum to take care of a very important tradition.

OHHH, MISTAH DAHCY!

By now, we were starting to feel how long of a day it had been, but we had a couple more things we had to see. On my map, I found a roundabout called Laura Place, so we had to go there so I could take a picture by it. We also went to see the Venetian inspired Pultney Bridge that crosses the calm Avon River.

Laura Place!

The Avon River
Photo by Andy

Pultney Bridge
Photo by Andy

Pultney Bridge
Photo by Andy

Then it was about time to head back to the station to catch our bus back to London.

This was such a comforting day because I thought of my incredible family all day long and how much they mean to me.