Bath

The next day of our trip brought us to the city of Bath (which, I've been told, you must pronounce like "Baa-th," and not like how us Americans would say "bath"). Bath is famous for being the only place in England with natural hot water springs-- thus the name. This city was originally inhabited by the Celts, and later by the Romans who settled here in 75AD. Naturally, the Romans built the first bath house here, and it has been a spa town ever since then. In 1702, Queen Anne came to this city to enjoy the luxury of the natural springs, which catapulted Bath into a very chic place to live and visit. Jane Austen fans will probably remember that Jane herself lived here for a few years, and Bath was even the setting of two of her novels.

When we got into Bath, we headed straight to the city center where the Roman Bath House and Bath Abbey are located. While we were trying to decide where to go first, we got to watch a street performer who juggled flaming torches while riding on a unicycle! Not a bad way to start our day. After the show, we got some lunch at a local pasty store (I promise to blog someday about pasties... basically, it's a meal in a pie pastry... warm, filling, and delicious!), and enjoyed it sitting on a bench in the middle of the city square.After lunch, we headed to the Roman Baths. While waiting in line (or "in the queue"), we enjoyed the view of the Abbey next door.Back to the Baths.... As I mentioned before, when the Romans settled in Bath around 75AD, they built a bath house making good use of the natural hot springs in the area. For the greater part of the 2000 years since it was built, the Baths lay in ruins under the ground, unknown to the people living above. But now, they have been excavated restored to its former appearance.This stone shows the earliest recorded date for the building of the baths, 76AD. Here is a model of what the baths originally looked like, and how they were built upon later on.Adjunct to the baths was a Roman Temple to the goddess Minerva. Here is a gilt bronze head of Minerva, and this is a picture of the temple pediment that they are re-assembling. These are the original stairs up to the temple.Here is the Great Bath from over-head where the statues of Roman govenors look on, and from pool-side. The bath complex also included the sacred spring, the spring overflow, plunge pools, sauna rooms, and changing rooms with heated floors! The furnace was under the base floor, and then they would build another floor on top of these pilings. Heated floors! Ingenious!Apparently the Romans would come to the baths daily. They were very keen on staying clean, as well as staying in the social scene.

It was a GREAT tour, and my favorite part of our whole trip.

After we left the Baths, we decided to take a walk around the city. We started by walking across Pulteney Bridge. Pulteney Bridge is one of the few bridges left in Europe that is lined with shops and restaurants. This is a picture of the road across the bridge, and from the side. We then took a stroll up to the Circus. The Circus is a circular space surrounded by three sections of townhouses. They were built in the mid-1700s, and exemplify a Georgian-style of architecture. This is a picture of the near-by Royal Crescent. As we headed back towards the city-center, we came across the Jane Austen center. I know all of you Austen fans will kill me for not going in, but I know you would also agree that it probably wasn't the most husband-and-three-young-children-friendly kind of places to visit.

Bath was a really incredible city to visit. It had it all: the history, the incredible architecture, chic shops, even flame-juggling unicyclists. A great outing for the whole family.