We left our flat bright and early - 7 a.m., to catch the train to Bath. Our modes of transportation: foot....Underground.....foot...foot....foot, train (for 90 minutes!) When we arrived in Bath, my first thought was, "Is this IT??" But as we walked (some more) we soon discovered the part of Bath I have read about and so wanted to see. It was a wonderful, wonderful day!
First, we took a tour of the Roman Baths. So much history, we were amazed. I had heard it was THE place to go to relax, flaunt your wealth, heal, etc. and it was very clear why! Here are a few of the many pics we took (sadly, we couldn't get into the baths!)
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Most buildings in Bath are made of limestone that was quarried from the surrounding hills! Some think it's drab :) |
As we walked through the baths, with our audio devices, we had a personal history lesson and learned about the medicinal value many felt these hot, mineral waters offered. They traveled for hundreds of miles to heal such things as gout from waters that bubbled up through the earth's crust!
The Gorgan - represents the water god and the sun god
- she (yes, she) has snakes inside her hair!
This is Sulis Minerva! She is a Goddess, and serves as both a nourishing, life giving goddess AND an agent of curses wished by her devotees. You simply have your curse etched in stone, deliver it to the priest, and the goddess would take care of it!!
I tried to bring her home!
This is the actual bath, where you are able to put your finger in the very, very warm water.
We were amazed at how crowded Bath is - and this is not the busy tourist time!
This is Ken, our tour guide! He led us straight UP through all the streets of Bath. He and his colleagues do this on a voluntary basis because of their love of this city. It is a bustling city with gorgeous Georgian architect - most of which is representative of ....something. Here's a link to an area we particularly liked, called "The Circus". http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Circus,_Bath#
This is the Bath Abbey. Although we didn't take the actual tour, we did stroll around and look at the architecture. Very intricate. Ken explained the significance of all the sculptures; everything had meaning and a purpose. Many of you know my love of angels - they were sculpted into the Abbey walls.
We had planned on taking a Jane Austen tour, but opted for this tour instead (next time, Jane!) But, Ken showed us where Jane lived while in Bath, and this is the Assembly Hall where Jane would go and dance!
Here is a picture from the National Gallery that shows what the high society looked like who attended the dances! We both love this painting except we think the woman looks like a man! However, we did stroll the Gravel Walk, the setting from this painting. It was the lovers lane of the time and is the primary setting from Jane Austen's book, Persuassion.
As we were leaving Bath to catch our train back to London, we stopped at Fuller's for a beer and a glass of wine! They kindly let us take the glass with us!!
Twelve hours later we returned to our flat! It was such a wonderful day.
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