Bath, England

Sunday, 3 November - Tuesday, 5 November 2019

Sunday, 3 November 2019
It was a nice night in a very nice AirBnB.  We are in Bath for 4 nights, so we get to relax a bit and not run around trying to see everything in one day. Today we are going to a flea market and then check out a couple of breweries in Bath.

Our AirBnB is about 1 mile south of Bath, so it took us 20 minutes to walk there, but it was a pleasant walk and it didn't rain today, so it was nice.  First stop is the Bath Flea Market.  It is only held on the first Sunday of every month, when we happen to be here.

It is a pretty nice venue, totally covered, so protected from the weather.  There wasn't anything that we couldn't live without, so we didn't buy anything, but it was fun walking around.

Next stop today is Bath Brew House where we ordered the flight.

Bath Brew House, Bath, England

One of the beers was a mint stout...quite good.

Next stop is Bath Ales and another flight:

Bath Ales, Bath, England

When we left the pub it was dark out.  This clock change makes it dark here by 5 PM.  We decided to walk home and stopped for take-out pizza on the way.  We got back to the apartment around 6:30 PM, ate pizza, and watched TV.  The plan for tomorrow is to take a walking tour at 2 PM, so we can sleep in and have a relaxing morning.

Monday, 4 November 2019
Another enjoyable night and a relaxing morning catching up with the blog and watching TV.  We left the apartment around 1:15 PM and walked downtown.  Today we are taking a walking tour of Bath.  These tours are provided by the mayor's office and is totally free.  Tips aren't even allowed. I really like following the walking tours in our guidebook, but it is nice to have someone else give the tour so I can just relax.

We made it to the walking tour meeting point about 10 minutes early and noticed this sign in front of a building.  It seems that Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein while staying here in 1816-17.

Also here at the meeting place is the Roman Baths that made Bath what it is today.  We will be checking out the baths tomorrow.

The tour started promptly with 22 people taking the tour.  Gill was our tour guide.  She discussed the history of the baths here and pointed out architecture throughout the tour.  She also pointed out locations that are mentioned in Jane Austen novels.

Bath Abbey

King's and Queen's Bath

Interesting architecture

The Royal Crescent

The Circus

Assembly Rooms

Chandeliers inside Assembly Rooms in the ballroom

Gill, our tour guide

Pulteney Bridge

Bath Abbey

The tour lasted over 2 hours and was really good.  We decided to head home and eat dinner there since we have some leftovers.  We got home around 5 PM and I made shrimp quesadillas, we watched TV, and relaxed.  Tomorrow we are visiting the Roman Baths.  I bought advanced tickets, so we have to be there between 10:30 and 11 AM.  Another morning that we don't have to rush...ahhhh.

Tuesday, 7 November 2019
We woke up around 8 AM had breakfast and left the apartment at 10:00 AM.  We arrived at the Roman Bath right at 10:30 AM and went inside.  They provide an audio guide, so Tim and I went our own ways and enjoyed the tour.

The Roman Baths were built between 60 - 360...wow.  During the Roman times, the pool was at ground level.  Now ground level is where I am stand...wow.  Pretty much, this how place was...wow.

View of Bath Abbey from the Roman baths.

This was the pediment from the Roman temple on the grounds of the bath.  They did a great job displaying it by having a projector project the missing pieces of the pediment.

This smaller pool is the called the "sacred spring" and was not used for bathing.  This was where the Romans prayed and threw offerings into it.  Many of these offerings such as coins and jewelry are on display in the museum.

This is the underfloor of a hot room.  There was a tile floor on top of these pillars with a fire warming up the space below the floor making it hot.

After the tour they had a fountain to taste the water.  According to the display, the water "contains 43 minerals and has a rather unusual taste!"  Unusual...I would say.  Not the best taste...actually...it tasted pretty bad.

We spent almost 3 hours at the Roman Bath.  It was fascinating.  After the bath, we went next door to check out the Bath Abbey, founded in the 7th century, but most of what is now here was rebuilt in the 1860's. 

We then walked home stopping in a couple of pub for a pint.  We got back to the apartment and ate leftover pizza for dinner.  I was exhausted and went to sleep early.  Tim stayed up and did the laundry and watched TV.  Tomorrow we leave Bath and head to Oxford.