bath // the city, not the tub

So after mom and dad left last Saturday in the wee hours of the morning, I was feeling pretty sad. I got some things done around my flat - lesson plans, laundry, and cleaning - but I knew the inevitable tears were bound to come. They finally did and I was cheered up by the fact that I was off to BATH the following morning with Ads. I've been wanting to go to Bath since moving here 18 months ago and had always heard wonderful things about the restaurants, the Roman Baths, and the spas they have there nowadays.

We left Sunday morning from Paddington station for a quick train ride to Bath. It takes less than two hours to get there and it goes by in a flash. Once we arrived, we checked into our hotel - The Abbey Hotel. After we dropped our things off, we went to walk around the city and find something to eat. As this is England, it started pouring rain out of nowhere and we got completely soaked. We found a nice pub called Pig and Fiddle and had a good lunch. It stopped raining while we were there so we were able to get out and go for a good stroll on our way to the Roman Baths.

          

              

We arrived at the Roman Baths and waited in a short queue to get inside. This really is such a cool place. They believe that the baths date all the way back to 60 A.D. Over thousands of years, people have thought that the water has healing powers. You can't swim in it (or even touch it) now, but at the end of your tour you can drink a cup of it. I'm sick now sooooo…..don't know how effective the 'healing' water is! But it is a very cool place to visit and I would highly recommend!

After visiting the baths, I was ready to try out one of the buns at Sally Lunn's House. This is said to be the oldest house in Bath and it serves buns with sweet and savory toppings. Adam and I both got sweet buns -- mine with cinnamon butter and Adam with dulce de leche. They were both so good and simple!

All those buns and roman baths, made me ready for a nap and a bath! So we went back to rest and relax before heading out for drinks at The Huntsman and dinner at Gascoyne Place. They do live jazz on Sunday nights and the band was incredible! Our food was pretty damn good too. 

On Monday morning, we woke up feeling refreshed and ready to go. Adam's good mate, Phil, is from Bath and was there with his wife Ara and daughter Mae. They took us to Jika Jika for brunch…we enjoyed some really great food and coffee. I got to spend most of the time holding baby Mae (and trying to convince Adam to hold her too - he's never held a baby!)

After our delicious brunch, we all made our way through Bath to the Royal Crescent -- a semi circle of flats/houses/offices which face onto a gorgeous green and has an amazing view of Bath and beyond. 

We strolled around this area for a bit, then went to Picnic coffee for another cuppa. Then we walked down to the River Avon. It's breathtaking…people stroll down the sidewalk and picnic next to the river. I could've stayed down there all day but I had places to be! 

A trip to Bath isn't complete without a little time at the Thermae Bath Spa - a modern day version of the old Roman baths. It's basically a fancy swimming pool, but the best part are the aromatherapy steam rooms. I left feeling very relaxed. 

THERMAE

Bath was such a lovely city! I will definitely try to make my way back there before my time in London is over.

xx
K