Bath, Somerset

Well hello there. It's been a while, a long while, and for that I apologize. I have missed writing in this blog and I am here to assure you that I have not dissapeared and that I will not stop. As I'm sure you're aware, it's been a busy summer. And I guess Summer is a pretty loose term because in reality I mean the last 6 months or so. I've set my expectations too high, I think, by planning on writing about each adventure I've had over the last few months. So in the interest of reviving this blog, and keeping it going with strength and vigor, I have decided to scrap that idea and start fresh. For those of you that have access to Facebook, you have at least seen pictures of everything I've been up to. And for those of you that don't, well then just ask if you'd like to hear more about it! So with all of that said...

Click here to see pics: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/bribergey/Bath?feat=directlink

I recently took a surprise weekend trip to the town of Bath, located in the county of Somerset about 100 miles west of London. I say surprise, because I surprised my girlfriend for our 6 month anniversary. Bath is a beautiful town with history that goes back as far as 43AD. This is because it was originally settled by Romans who found it's natural hot springs, the only ones in the United Kingdom, to be something from the Gods. The town of 83k is nestled in a small valley surrounded by hills and is home to a World Heritage Site, the River Avon and a university.

We arrived in Bath on Saturday afternoon and checked in to our B&B which sat just across the river from the center of town. We dropped off our bags in the room and ventured out by foot to explore the city. We decided our first stop would be for some food, and I had read about a place that serves an excellent afternoon tea. Now for those of you that don't know, tea doesn't necessarily just mean tea. A traditional Cream Tea, for example, is a scone served with clotted cream and jam, often some fruit and a pot of tea. It can also consist of small sandwiches, a variety of scones, and cakes. The place I read about was the Jane Austen Center, which was a bit awkward at first. Most of you probably know who Jane Austen is (think Pride and Predjudice), so imagine the two of us walking into a tea shop on the top level of her museum. It was filled with a lot of ladies, most of them older than our combined ages. But I have to say the food, and tea, was excellent. I ordered the "Ladies Afternoon Tea" after Nat refused to order it for me. It consisted of small cheese and cucumber sandwiches and a scone with Strawberry jam and clotted cream. And a huge pot of Earl Gray.

We then spent the afternoon exploring the center. Bath is a city like no other in England. It's the first place I've been in England where with every corner I turned, I wanted to take another picture. It was as if I was somewhere abroad in Europe with it's unique architecture, winding cobblestone streets, and a history rich with a variety of influences. The high street shops were masked by a look and feel that matched the rest of the buildings and the streets were full of market stalls and tourists enjoying the rain-free afternoon. After an afternoon of sight-seeing and shopping, we decided to settle in for a snack and a drink before heading up to the University to watch the Bonfire Night fireworks. Bonfire night, or Guy Fawkes Night, is an annual celebration that marks the anniversary Guy Fawkes tried to blow up The Houses of Parliament (Big Ben). If you've seen V for Vendetta, that's pretty much the story. The tradition is to gather around a huge bonfire and light a bunch of fireworks. Personally, I'm not really sure if they are celebrating the fact that he should have blown up, or did not blow up Big Ben, but I love fireworks so I'm happy.

The next morning, we woke up to a wonderful full English breakfast at our B&B. The Full English never lets me down and always starts the day off right, even if it is the best part of your entire caloric intake for a normal day. After breakfast, we walked back to the center of town with our swimsuits in hand. Along with the historic Roman Baths, Bath offers a large spa that uses water from the natural springs. The Thermae spa includes a rooftop pool, a large indoor pool and 4 scented steam rooms. Both of the pools were quite warm and the steam rooms varied in temperature and "flavor." Surprisingly, my favorite part of the entire morning was the mint steamroom. It was like the Mint Room at the Celestial Seasonings Tea tour in Boulder, but hot and steamy. I didn't want to leave!

After our relaxing two hour spa session, we took a tour of the Roman Baths. I was amazed at how ancient and well preserved the baths were. Our audio guide told us (as we were shown) the progression of the baths over the several hundred years the Romans inhabited the area. We were also able to view all of the baths and see how they were connected by channels, tunnels and drainage ditches constructed by Roman engineers. Only a fraction of the entire Roman Baths complex has been excavated because the city was built on top a lot of it. It's amazing how intellegant the Romans were when building the vast system of pools, baths and heat/steam rooms. I found it very interesting how the current street level is an entire story above where the street level used to be when the baths were constructed.

After grabbing a quick snack, we headed a quick mile out of town to Prior Park. The Park is a National Trust site that sits on a hill overlooking the entire valley and city. It displays beautiful gardens, woodlands and a small trail system through and around the park. It also has a small lake at the bottom of the park with a ornamental Palladian bridge, one of only four in the world. Although the weather was quite cold and cloudy, it was still a short side trip well worth a visit! But to warm up, we decided to head back into town for a hearty meal before going back to London. While waiting for the pub I had read about to open for dinner, we explored a different part of the center that included the Royal Crescent. It's a large row of flats built into a half-circle and faces a large park. It looks surprisingly quite impressive!

At 6pm, the Raven Pub finally opened and they are known for their amazing pies. And when I say pies, I mean the meat variety...not the dessert! I ordered a Steak & Ale pie with a unique addition of chorizo and butter beans. It was delicious and served with a nice helping of mashed potato. And of course the meal wasn't complete without a pint of beer brewed in-house and a Sticky Toffee Putting with ice cream for dessert!