Taking a Bath

(Bath, Day 1 - August 27, 2007)

More posting! Will wonders ever cease?

We woke up before dawn and grabbed the breakfast that Ursula had kindly left us on our doorknob. It consisted of pastries and juice and it was really good, and I can't help but say thanks again for making our stay an excellent one, and if I can help it we will be back! So yeah, before dawn. We have to catch our ridiculously-early-in-the-morning flight, so we hop the bus into town and then catch the airport shuttle (yay for buying return tickets when we got here). We wake up somewhere along the way and take a quick and uneventful flight into London.

We take the tube from Heathrow back into town and transfer our way to Paddington Station. I still can't quite get over the ridiculous amount of pigeons in this indoor space, I'm sure I saw one ordering a coffee at one point. But, that aside, it's almost lunchtime and the Yo! Sushi stand is just getting ready to open! Our friend Bernard would be jealous I'm sure :)

After bumming around the station for a while our train finally arrived. I've never really ridden on a train before until now, and it was a great experience. I realize it's just a mode of transportation, but we got a great view of the countryside along the way and all of the different train stations, much like the varied tube stations in London, were pretty interesting as well.

We arrived in Bath in the early afternoon and walked from the train station to our hotel. It was a fairly short walk but the central area in Bath is full of all sorts of great sights and things to explore, as we come to discover. We arrive at our hotel, the local Travelodge, which is fairly spartan but it was inexpensive (yay!) and clean, however Eva didn't care very much for it. I insist it's just a place to sleep when we're not out exploring. My only serious complaint would have been the lack of internet access, however I think they were installing WiFi soon.

Once we drop our stuff off, we head out towards the town square near the Roman Baths and the Abbey as a starting point. Unfortunately for Eva (though I consider this ample revenge for all the little tourist shops she insists on stopping in) there is a camera store near here and I, of course, feel the need to check things out. They have a decent selection of Pentax gear so I try out the 21mm limited lens (really sharp!) and new DA* 50-135mm (also sharp and a beast of a lens!). Fortunately for my wallet, the prices in pounds for these lenses are similar to the prices in dollars back home so that quickly dashes any ideas of making a purchase.

After the camera store we just start wandering around, heading vaguely to various notable landmarks. After poking around the Abbey and nearby side-streets we head for the Pulteney Bridge, apparently one of only four bridges in the world lined with shops on both sides. It's pretty cool and the shops are interesting too! From here we check out the River Avon (or the River River, as Avon is derived from the Welsh word for river) which is very beautiful. After a while we decide to check out the Circus and the Royal Crescent, along the way we pass through Queen Square where a mobile French Market is set up. There are all sorts of fresh produce and baked goods, as well as a plethora of hand-made goods and such. It's on it's last day, but we buy some awesome pastries before we continue on.

The Circus is a really interesting architectural feature in Bath, basically it's your standard road circus, with a stand of huge trees in the middle surrounded almost completely by buildings that follow the circumference of the circle. Visually it's very impressive, and thankfully I took the time to do a series of shots with making a panorama later in mind. I finally managed to use the program Autostitch to finish this up and the results are very cool. From here it's a quick walk to The Royal Crescent.

The Royal Crescent is situated overlooking Victoria Park, and it's another architectural marvel. The sweeping curve of the buildings makes for yet another lovely panorama. Eva and I take some time to enjoy the park and it's surroundings. It's very easy to see why Bath receives many awards for its beautiful scenery and flowers.

Our final destination for the day ends up being the Roman Baths. It's essentially a museum documenting the Baths, originally built in Roman times, as they evolved over the centuries. There are all sorts of awesome sculptures and artifacts around, and the history of this place is really fascinating. For example, people used to put their written wishes in a fountain here, though often instead of wishing for good luck or what have you they would wish ill-will and doom upon their contemporaries. We hooked up with a guided tour part way through, and I have to say our guide was excellent. He entertained us with various stories and it was much more fun than the audioguide I think.

I think my only real regret was not trying the mineral water here. They only suggest you try it once, as apparently it tastes like rusty nails, but it's one of those things you should try once at least in my opinion.

Once we finished touring the baths (it was getting on closing time) we grabbed a quick bite to eat for supper and then we headed back to the hotel to get ready for our second day.