Bath

I am Jane Austen nerd. Well, I'm a British literature nerd, but I do love Jane Austen like any other rational girl on the planet. How can you not love her characters so rich in description?

And I admit, I did do a bit of Jane Austen group-ee type sight-seeing while in England. I don't get there often so I might as well enjoy myself thoroughly. I'm so glad I did because it was so much fun.

I loved Bath. I would desperately love to go back too. The only tragedy was that my camera battery died about an hour after getting to the city. I even purchased another battery for my camera to try to compensate. Not only did the battery not fit, though it said it was for my camera, but it also wasn't charged. I was so sad as my camera takes amazing pictures and fabulous HD videos (which I can't upload onto my computer for some reason). So I had to settle for a lesser quality camera in the meantime. I take it as I sign I have to go back one day. Hopefully soon.


On of the first sights I saw once entering into the town was Bath Abbey. I had no idea it was so beautiful on the side. As you can see the outside is a beautiful structure, typical of most Gothic churches you may find throughout Europe. As it was early in the morning when I arrived, around 9am, not many people were out and about yet. It was nice to be able to see a few things before the tourist crowds hit. And they did come.







Once going inside I was struck with how white it was. Most of the cathedrals I have been inside seem dirty. They've lasted for so many centuries that things begin to fade and absorb the pollution from the air making the walls dingy and dirty looking. Plus usually the inside is a bit dark and gloomy. But this was so white in comparison.




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This abbey did not feel dingy at all. It was beautiful with the morning light shining in through all the windows. I've no doubt it takes a lot of energy and money to keep it so well taken care of.

You can also see the amazing detail in the stained glass windows. Most of them tell stories from the Bible. Even the ceiling has intricate details that I couldn't get enough of.

It's amazing to think of how much art and detail went into buildings back then. Now buildings go up and down so quickly that beauty is replaced by functionality. Such a shame. We are missing out on so much. It was about at this point that my camera died. And for a moment I wept.

Next door to this amazing building is the reason Bath is called Bath. The famous Roman Baths. As you can see the natural spring water that people used to bathe in is now green. Of course you are not allowed to touch this lovely green water as it's filled with lots of things I don't want to know about. It appears that if you were to dip a toe or finger in this water there's a high chance you'd get very sick from it. I believe it.

You can take an audio tour that wanders all through the insides of this hot vacation spot and see all the ruins of what were once steam rooms, bathing rooms, etc. Most of it is in ruins, but you can see where the spring water comes in. Very cool.

The pictures aren't the best on the inside as it really is dark and dingy ( and because MY camera died. If i hadn't he pictures would have turned out a lot better. I'm still mad at myself for letting that happen).

There is a little fountain on the inside that you can drink from to taste the famous mineral water that they believed had healing powers. This is apparently safe as they have a paper cup dispenser next to it. It was warm for one, and had a metallic miner-ally taste to it. Not really that great. As you can see by this time of day the tourists had arrived in droves.

After this we wandered through the city. The heart of it is of course the shopping center. It runs quiet a few blocks and has all varieties of shops you can imagine. There was street music and fountains, and was nice to wander around for a while until deciding where to go next.


In this main shopping walk I happened upon a familiar setting that I have read about often. The the famous Pump Room. It took a few tries to get a decent picture as the sun was facing directly into my eyes, but I prevailed. Of course I had to take a peak inside to see what it looked like. Turns out it's a swanky restaurant. I would have loved to eat there, just to say I did, but it was a swanky restaurant.

I am 1) not a swanky person, and 2) do not have the kind of money that a swanky person would have. And 3) it was a swanky place in ENGLAND, which means it was about double what you would pay at a fancy restaurant in the states. Maybe next time I'll save up.



The next stop on my list of sights to see was of course the Royal Crescent. I didn't realize that Bath was such a hilly town, and the Royal Crescent was on top of one of these hills. The walk there took me through some fabulous streets and buildings that you would expect to see in a city like Bath. I loved it.


The whole city is all this same Georgian architectural style. So strange to see but so unique. I've no doubt it's expensive upkeep and cost of living, but it is beautiful to see. I've been in a city quiet like this.

























Once I hit the beautiful gardens and Royal Avenue it was clear that I wasn't far off. That and the three tour buses were a clue I was almost there.

It's a hard place to get all in one picture. But it is quite lovely. From what I'd heard from the tour guides one night at a room in one of the places on he Royal Crescent was about 600 pounds a night, which would be close to $1000. I can't say I'm surprised. There wasn't an opportunity to tour the inside of one of these homes, but I hope next time there will be. I'm so curious.

Meanwhile I will settling for getting my picture taken like everyone else. It's very easy to imagine an old fashioned English gentleman and carriage coming down the road along this patch of the rich. Like anywhere else in England it's easy to imagine that. I did think it would be fun if BBC were filming some BBC period piece movie while I was there and get to see it decked out. Then I really would have been in an Austen novel. Sadly it was just tourists. I was lucky enough to get a picture without any other people in the background. Definitely a rare occurrence.

Of course by now it's way past food time. English food isn't that great. I was prepared for that. So finding a place to eat at was a bit of a challenge. There were a lot of option of other ethnic restaurants, but they were so crowded or didn't look remotely appetizing. Finally found a cute little Spanish restaurant where there was really great Spanish Paella. So yummy! And it was right next to this amazing view of the river. I could have stayed all day at this pretty little spot.

The weather was typical English - cold. Standing in the sun was not too bad, but if you stood in the shade too long with a slight breeze it got chilly quickly. There was not rain though. I'm very grateful for that.

The remainder of the day was spent just wondering around the city and enjoying the view. Lots of gardens, walks, and other pretty things to see along the way. I'm sure there are even more pretty walks just outside the city, but as always there's just not enough hours in a day.

 So ends my adventure in Bath. If you ever get a chance for a day trip to this little place I recommend taking it. So worth it.