I'm Happy I Bathe More Than the Romans

Many Romans probably came here as often as I have, and I'm so happy that modern plumbing allows me to shower (almost) every night without travelling. Bath is a city that holds the bath houses built by the Romans for praying to the Celtic goddess Minerva to cleanse them of their illnesses and to, well, take their yearly baths. It would have made a for a great sauna, though! As a city, Bath was so cute, and we visited while they were celebrating Carnival which added to the fun atmosphere. So here is the intenerary for the day!

Once we figured out how to buy a train ticket and make it to the correct train station, we got on a First Great Western train and rode only an hour and a half from London to Bath. The train ride there wasn't great because the air conditioner was broken in our car, but I took a nap to stop thinking about it. Once we got there, we Googled places to eat and ended up at the Royal Crescent Hotel. They had a proper English garden that we got to sit outside and eat in. Sadly, we were there too early for tea, but the food added to the fun and beauty of the situation. Here was our view:

After lunch, we wanted to tour around and just see what the city had to offer. Fun fact: Jane Austen grew up here and a lot of her books were imagined in places around the city! We didn't make it to the Jane Austen tour, but I spent the day imagining her characters wandering the city and living out their drama- filled lives. Next, we went to the city's namesake: the Roman Baths.

Here is a picture of the wierdly green waters that no one can or wants to swim in that is affectionately known as the Roman Baths. It doesn't seem very big from this picture or the outside, but the outside is very deceptive! The rooms continue further down underground where the Romans kept their (pretty much) saunas and a temple for the goddess Minerva. There is a great audio tour to listen to as you wander through the rooms. It was interesting to listen to the information, but my favorite narratives were those through the childrens' audio tour options because they made the drama come alive by using different voices and not boring me with too many numbers. I was most impressed by how they recreated the ruins. They did not try to carve out new imitation pieces, but they put in support systems to hold up what remained so that the missing pieces were left to your imagination. It really felt as if I was walking through the ruins as the Romans did. At the end of the bath house tour, we went into the Abbey of Bath, which is fully named The Abbey Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul.

This Abbey felt very open with the vaulting ceilings flying high above our heads. The floor and the ceiling were connected by beautiful stained-glass windows with incredible pictures. However, our trip in the Abbey was cut short when we heard a lot of drums playing outside. Naturally, I was curious and went to go check it out very swiftly. I was greeted by a great surprise: Carnival! At first, there was only one drum group (not nearly good enough to be a corps... really, it was just a motley crew with drums), but they were joined by costumed people (including peacocks, the Disney princesses, and Olaf) and other drum bands. There were people of all ages that dressed up and danced around the streets. We then followed them down to a park where there was music, salsa dancing, and drinks. I think I even found my favorite drink: Sparkling wine with elderflower and lime. It sounds odd, but "One sip is all it takes" to get you hooked as it did me! Europe is turning out to have a lot of elderflower. I love that because I love elderflower :)

After we got our fill of the park filled with activities, we wandered into a Greek restaurant calle Opa!. The interior decorations looked almost like vaults with a lot of colorful tiles. It was a little dark inside because it was built into a bridge that crosses the River Avon. Instead, we wanted to enjoy the view of the river from the terrace in the sun. My mom, sister, and I shared a set menu of samplers that were so delicious and fresh. We also shared a bottle of wine that we couldn't finish, but it didn't matter because they do not have open container laws in many places in Europe. We had to finish dinner quickly because to end our trip to Bath, we went on a comedy tour called Bizzare Bath.

Honestly, I've forgoten our tour guide's name because I just referred to him in my mind as the Man in the Purple Jacket with the Crazy Hair. This was NOT a history tour of Bath. He certainly showed us a lot of sites, but he only made fun of them or performed a magic trick infront of them. Now, I'm a sucker for a good magic trick so I was enthralled by him the whole time! My favorite trick he did started with the picture above. We stood by the river and watched him wrap chains around a toy rabbit, lock them, and put them in a weighted bag. Then he threw the bag in the river and let it sink. However, in 30 seconds, the rabbit pulled a Houdini (not his last performance) and escaped! As my calculus professor would say when he didn't know the answer to one of our questions: It was magic! The Man in the Purple Jacket with the Crazy Hair was funny, I was captivated, and we were all happy. I'd say that was a pretty successful tour!

Finally, to get back home, we had to take the 10:45 train back to London. To future me and anyone else, DO NOT take the 10:45 train... or just whichever train leaves last for the night. This was the drunk train. Everyone onboard probably started drinking at 2:00pm and hadn't stopped since. Luckily, they got off at the first stop, though, so we could play cards in relative silence. We sat with a nice boy from London who is studying theatre/ movie production in Bath. We talked a lot about the differences between European and American education. There are actually a lot of differences! The main change is that college (the US equivalent of high school) is specialized to a future job, and the students test into whichever college they should attend. Then, after college, European students attend University (the US equivalent of College or University). However, all of the age ranges were about the same between the two systems.

One more interesting fact about Bath: it is apparently a huge bachelorette/ bachelor party destination. I mean, I don't blame them because there's a lot of drinking and pretty pictures to be had, but the city itself doesn't exude a "party destination" reputation. I am definitely down for the trip, though, if any of my friends are looking for a good place for a party!

Overall, I LOVED Bath!! It was a cute little city with just enough to do and see. The countrysides were green and beautiful, and there is still a lot left that I did not cover. I still want to go punting in the lake, experience the Jane Austen tour, and have a picnic infront of the Royal Crescent. This was a great first weekend in Europe, and I cannot wait to travel some more!

#Bath