waffleweave: Bath

Bath! And it must be pronounced with the "ah" sound, like as in the word "body." I can't even say it the other way anymore. Bath is a delightful place, as everyone had told us (and they were right). It is definitely a must-see, if only for the architecture, which is predominately Georgian and remarkably unchanged in the last 200 years.

Bath, of course, got its name from the natural springs that the Romans used for a community bath. These springs are very unique, seeing as they occur nowhere else in England, according to the guide at the Roman baths (we started our tour there, figuring we'd go about our visit in chronological order). The baths were very interesting, but I felt that there was a ton of information to process. Fortunately, they have guides who give a 15-20 minute presentation every hour, and I learned most of what I learned about the baths during that time.

After leaving the Roman baths (and trying the water in the Pump Room, a sample of which is included in the cost of your ticket--just tasted like warm water to me), we set out to explore the rest of the town. We could have opted for a free guided tour provided by the Mayor's office or paid for a guided tour through one of several operators, but we decided to do an audio guided tour that I found on the Bath tourism website, which anyone can download for free and which is compatible with Ipods. So we put on our headphones and set off for about an hour and a half.

The audio tour focused on Jane Austen, who lived in Bath for several years in the early 19th century and wrote about the town in several of her books. In this way I felt the audio tour was superior to other tours--it included selections of Austen's writing throughout the tour. For example, while we set out on the Gravel Walk on our way to the Royal Crescent (above right), we listened to a scene from Persuasion, where two of the main characters engage in a touching conversation on that very Walk. Because we had headphones on--meaning we weren't pausing to read from a book or following a huge crowd, straining to hear the guide--we could walk at our own pace, enjoying the scenery and the commentary without distraction. And being able to pause/rewind with the touch of a button is great.

After finishing our audio tour, we returned to where we had started and toured the inside of the Abbey, which is beautiful. And they even let you take pictures inside! We ate lunch at Sally Lunn's, which is the oldest house in Bath, and we also stopped for some fudge, because I can't resist buying fudge. :)

For more pictures, go to our Picasa Album.