England's Cover Girl City

I scoffed at Rick Steve's description of Bath when I first read it in my treasured England book, but after having spent 24 hours there, I take it all back! Even in the almost-dead of winter - the middle of February - Bath was a beautiful city.

Dj, Jenny, Micah, and I arrived in Bath around noon (its a 1.5 hour train ride from London's Paddington station, but that is nearly 45 minutes from our flat, so all in all - it take just over 2 hours to get there). We went straight to our B&B to drop off our rucksacks (that's what they call backpacks here!) and we were greeted by the lovely owner, Jill.It was a charming little B&B and Jill cooked us up a fantastic English breakfast! She also had an amazing teacup collection!The main city center was just a 5 minute walk over the bridge across the River Avon... One of the reasons why Bath is so beautiful is because the entire city is made of the honey-coloured limestone, and in the sunlight, it looks golden.

A bit of Bath history: Long before the Romans arrived in the 1st century, Bath was known for its natural healing mineral hot springs. However, the Romans developed an intricate bath spa out of it, providing the structure to accommodate multitudes and allowing its popularity to grow. The first King of England, King Edgar's coorination was held at the Abbey in Bath, which aided in its popularity and growth. However, it declined in the mid-1600's... to a muddy, smelly huddle of huts with only 3,000 residents. Then, in the late 1600's, Queen Mary, fighting infertility, bathed there and within 10 months she gave birth to a son! The healing powers of the mineral water spread and Bath flourished. Its popularity continues today, as do the mineral-water baths!

The Abbey:

Notice Jacob's ladder on the facade of the church... angles going up and down taking messages to God. The beautiful interior and the pipe organ.

My honey, waiting patiently as I photograph the Abbey's facade!
The Royal Crescent (pictured above) is an arc of Georgian "condos" (dating to the 1770's). If you'd like to purchase one, there a mere $900,000 each.

For you literary fans out there - Bath lays claim as Jane Austen's home for 5 years - and it is the setting for two of her novels, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion. Jenny and I popped into the Jane Austen Center to browse the shop, purchase Persuasion (we're reading it for a book club!), and we couldn't resist posing with Jane her-solid-self.
There are only 2 bridges crossing River Avon in Bath - this one, the Pulteney Bridge is famous because it is one of only two bridges that have shops on both sides of the bridge across the whole length of it. The shops include boutiques, cafes, and a beautiful flower shop!

Touring the Old Roman Baths: A fine museum surrounds the ancient bath - the one the Romans built. It was amazing to think that the high society of the 1st century leisurely bathed here and worshiped in the temple that once used to stand in the same area.

Even more fun, however, was when we had took the chance to bathe in the natural mineral water from the same springs that the Romans bathed in 2,000 years ago! Recently opened, just steps away from the old Roman Bath remains, is a new, modern Thermae Spa. We treated ourselves to a fantastic Valentine's Day present - the Twilight Spa package! We enjoyed 3 hours at the spa (which has essential oil sauna rooms, a rooftop pool, and an indoor pool), wearing the special slippers and robes, and even enjoyed a meal in their restaurant! I felt so spoiled!!Here we are outside at the rooftop pool - sorry you can't see the pool itself. You'll have to go there to experience it on you own!

No blog about a trip to an English city would be complete without a few notes about eating!!

A few months ago, my friend Sheila e-mailed me to tell me about some wonderful crackers she'd eaten (she lives in Seattle). The crackers were made by The Fine Cheese Co. in Bath, England! I looked them up on-line and promised Sheila that I'd visit the shop while we were in Bath, and I'm so glad that we did!!!

We enjoyed soup, sandwiches, and a fabulous cheese platter in their cafe, and then browsed their shop for crackers and cheese to purchase (a nice little snack for the train ride home).

So many yummy things!! A person can't go anywhere in England without experiencing a new pub - so we visited the Crystal Palace - est. in 1700's.
Our favourite was the sign out front:

The Bath Abbey at night...

Here we are - leaving the Huntsman Inn (another pub), on our way home to London...

There's no travel like train travel in England!