Currently on the train to Bath. Atleast I'm almost sure it is - there's a loud group of teenagers ahead of me so I couldn't hear the announcement. It was one thing to come accross kids like this on the tube at night, but it's a bit much on the train at 9am. Admittedly, complaining about the music being too loud makes me feel a bit old and stodgy, but I think my concerns about their drinking (and there's atleast 2 parents with the group too) are well founded, and also supported by considerable amounts of media coverage :p Apparently they're all heading to some music festival somewhere. It must be the season for them - there was one in Pen, near Beaconsfield, where we had dinner last night. We dropped off my mom's friend's daughter - there was a whole camping village set up, which is really ill-advised what with the crap weather here.
Anyways, baring all that have been having a pretty good morning. They let me grab some fruit from the hotel kitchen, since I had to leave before breakfast started. Smooth trip on the tube, though there was initially a bit of confusion given the what train I was supposed to be on - I bonded with a lady also heading to Paddington enroute to heathrow. Only down part was that the Paddington bear store at Paddington station was closed... I would have been all over that :)
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Taking a break in the Regency Tea Room, part of the Jane Austen Centre here in Bath. Haven't actually been through the museum - it seems everything closes early on Sundays, so it was either the museum or tea and I was starving. The scones are yummy - especially paired with cherry jam with port - but the sandwiches all have butter, even the cucumber and cream cheese one tst had a visible layer, which I'm definitely not used to. They offer the jam I like for sale, but delicious as it is it would be crazy to carry jam around Europe. Also worth noting - proper Dorset clotted cream is nothing like what they serve back home. It's much lighter with a hint of sweetness. Yum :)
Overall had a really lovely day - I think it's been properly sunny for the first time since I arrived, which I actually didn't realize until the sun finally came out.
Got to the hotel with out problems. Pulling along my suitcase made it seem like a huge distance, but really the whole of Bath (atleast the central areas most tourists would be interested in) is quite small, but filled with intersting things to see and do.
I arrived at my hotel before my room was ready, so I headed off to the nearby Holburn museum after dropping off my bags. It's a small collection, but really wonderfully curated, including several opportunities to do things like trying to do your own silhouettes. Or in my case - having someone take a picture of the shadow of my head. I also stopped for a pot of tea in their gardens. Meant to have lunch but nothing appealed to me, so I meant to grab something after checking in, but ended up going off to join the free walking tour, and haven't really had a break since.
Anyways, have to finish off my scone and tea. Will properly recap the museum, the awesome free tour I did, along with whatever I end up doing for the evening tonight from the hotel.
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Things really do shut down after 5:30 around a lot of the town. I passed by the cathedral, where I sat in a bit if an informal service, and really the only other thing open (until 10) are the Roman Baths, where I am now. It's actually kind of nice, because maybe I'll finally be able to catch up on my sleep. I'll have to be down for breakfast tomorrow promptly at 8 to make it to my tour.
At the moment I'm just killing some time sitting by the edge of the main bath, waiting for darkness to fall. I highly recommend coming here towards the end of the day. Much emptier, since the people on bus tours are all back in London, but also, they have the main pool lit with torches. They're lit now, but it's too bright out to get the full effect.
An audoguide is part of the admission fee, which is really interesting. The sort of enforced pacing is probably the only reason I've managed to hang around here this long. There are several interesting reconstructions and models along side the artifacts which are really engaging. Another cool bit of the museum is that it includes a glass of water from the spring up in the pump room, which is supposed to be all sorts if good for you, but not particularly appetizing. Still, an excuse to go into the pump room would be nice - it's apparenty been the centre of social life here in bath since Victorian times. Or possibly Georgian times.... I don't remember offhand, though I do recall from my tour earlier that the buildings are all Georgian, in the Palladian style. The pump room apparently does quite a nice tea service, which I'm considering for tomorrow, but the dinner is a bit pricy.
I'm actually kind of hungry, so I don't think I'll wait till full night - which might not hit until the museum practically closes at the rate things are going. To recap my day quickly, the museum was good, apparently featured in the Kiera Knightley movie the Duchess, and I really like how almost every single piece had a detailed descriptive plaque, something that only happens for bigger pieces in more major museums. My favorite pieces was an installation of vases hanging down like a chandelier, and a portrait of Henrietta, who's last name I've forgotten. Apparently she was a fantastic businesswoman, and was the richest spinster in Europe.
The tour of the city was similarly good. Meets out behind the cathedral, which made it kind of hard to find the group initially, since the whole area was filled with various tour groups. It gives you a nice bit of history about the area, and also serves to sort of orient you around the city, so now able to just wander without worrying about getting lost. My fave bit was coming up on the Royal Crescent, a half circle of grand Georgian homes facing a massive park. As we were walking around, music from the bandstand just out of sight filled the entire area. It was so nice I went back there after the Jane Austen Centre. The band had gone, but I had my iPod and just lay on the grass and stretched out for a while which was lovely.
And really, I think that's most of my day here in Bath. Now a few more pics here at the baths, then dinner, then possibly chilling on the chaises in the lounge of the hotel.
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Indeed on the chaise in my hotel. Had two cups of water at the spa, and then managed to find a Thai place by the weir that was still open for dinner.
Also just realized that yesterdays post never went up, so these will both be going up simultaneously.
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