Bathing in Bath

Well not quite. We didn't exactly take a dip, but we did stick our hand(s) in! The trip began with the obligatory early morning commute to Regent's. We arrived right on time, but the coaches did not.

Navigating a small car through a city can be challenging, but a coach? After we boarded the coaches (which by the way were one level, sans tables), it became apparent that after quite a few turns, we were right back outside the main Regent's park gate. Whhatt?!  Turns out, because of the our inability to make one turn right out of the park, we had to go all the way around making left turns.  Brilliant.

Take one glance at any city map of London and you instantly realize why it takes the "Black Cab" cabbies 2-3 years to master "The Knowledge." The roads names change, they end, twist, turn and loop around.  Grid system?! hah! In order for any cab driver to obtain a license from "Transport for London," they must learn every street, alley and landmark within a six mile radius of Trafalgar Square (roughly the center of the city).  That's over 320 basic routes, not counting road works and points of interest that always change! 

So with that, you can imagine how entertaining it is getting to see the coach drivers navigate through the ever-present congestion.

Upon our arrival, we were to convene in front of the Bath Abbey before heading into the main attraction: the Roman Baths.

 

Bath Abbey: Dead ahead

The infamous Roman Baths..and heads

When we all made our way to the entrance, three things struck me: umm protesters? A bright blue mosaic pig? and I have to pee...

...Sorry there isn't a picture of me doing my business. That took place in the confines of clean, predictable Starbucks.

So about those baths... Well, they date back to 60-70 AD, are one of only a dozen (or so) geothermal hot springs in the UK and are absolutely disgusting.  The water looks very similar to the Maumee, but with one big difference: it's warm! 

Thanks to the main commentators on the audio guide and some great tidbits from author Bill Bryson (Dave, you would have loved it!), the tour up, down and around the baths was great.  Without being too monotonous, "Bryson at the Baths" kept it fresh by candidly admitting when he disliked or didn't understand a particular part of the bath or an artifact on display.  Heck, will I really remember the origin of this random mask that may have been worn by an obscure aristocrat a week from now?

 

I'm a fan of the reflection...

Overall, the experience was definitely worthwhile.  If you do anything, marvel at the incredible Roman engineering.  The scale models that showcased the true beauty, bold colors and lavish accommodations were very impressive.

After our tour de bath, we decided to jump out of our comfort zones and find some unique and interesting food for lunch.  What name screams original, exotic and European? Starbucks, of course.  In truth, we just wanted to save some money so we went in to grab some grilled sandwiches (which were actually delicious). 

Lunching complete, we figured we would slip into the Bath Abbey and see what all the fuss was about.  It IS considered to be the CENTER of town and who doesn't want to be the center of something now and then?

 

I couldn't help but notice the gigantic 50 inch plasma TVs perched on each of the hand-carved pillars that held the roof up.  Although, I don't have a picture, I'm sure you can imagine how much they added to the old world ambiance of the place.

What happened next? I found my future home, we bought some old buns, Zach and Bri got Ben and Jerry's and I took pictures of cool restaurant signs (not in that order).

Old buns, you say? The oldest house in Bath is ironically the home of the oldest bun.  Go figure.  The "Sally Lunn" bun or the "London Bath bun" dates back to 1680ishhh.  It's basically a brioche bun, a really massive one, that you then smother with the delicious jam of your choosing.  This was all well and good, but considering we were all in penny-pinching mode, one would have to do.  After each pitching in a poundishh, we secured our first Sally Lunn bun.. How exciting...

 

With bun in-hand, we stopped by Crisp Cowley realty to see what was up for grabs.  I found my future home. Score!

The ride home wasn't particularly noteworthy as all of us were pretty pooped.  Headphones in, eyes closed, head rested awkwardly against the window, 15 minutes pass andddd still awake.

Here is a picture of Zach and I with the Sally Lunn after it spent some time in the oven getting perfectly toasted:

 Photo credit: Bri

We threw some strawberry jam on the toasted goodness and devoured it in less than three minutes. Definitely worth every penny.

I hope everyone is enjoying all the snow in the States!!

Cheers!