(A) We spent most of today in Bath, which is famous for its hot springs. The Romans knew about them and built fancy spas around them to relax in. Several hundred years later, English royalty enjoyed the waters, bathing in them for the health benefits and, in doing so, revitalizing tourism. These days, tourists are charged 25 pounds to look at the baths (but not go in them). We didn’t spring for the springs.
Our main reason for visiting Bath was the Jane Austen Center. She lived in bath for a while, and the place inspired her. I confess, I have only read one work by Jane Austen: The History of England. I bought it at a second-hand book sale near the Tredegar House, which we visited a couple of days ago. Here I am…
At the Jane Austen Center you can hear from some very English actors about Jane’s family, her life, and her writings. You can see some 19th-century clothing and gadgets. And you can enjoy some tea, sandwiches, and cakes. They even have coffee for people who don’t enjoy tea!
Tea and coffee and cakes consumed, we headed out to walk around Bath. There is a lot of Georgian (a.k.a. Neo-Classical) architecture there, especially in the Royal Crescent, where fancy people used to live. (Maybe they still do.)
On our walk, we found the Bath Cathedral.
It wasn’t built long ago, compared to other Gothic Cathedrals. But seeing as how it was built 500 or so years ago, it’s still plenty old.
After that, and still on our walk, we encountered the Pulteney Bridge, which spans the Avon River. We thought it looked so good that we crossed it. Lucky for us, our car was parked on the other side of the river. We got into it (the car, not the river) and headed back to Wales. On the way I took some pictures out the window. They feature the clouds and the fields.
There was a wreck on the route back to our rental house, just over the Prince of Wales Bridge From England. We took that as a sign that we should find an alternate route, which we did. I sometimes think that it’s better not to return to the place you’ve come from by the same route you took to get to where you went. I’m assuming that made more sense in my head than it does typed out, but I’m not inclined to rephrase it. I’ll just say that we had a lovely day, and I’m looking forward to tomorrow.