Whenever I am traveling alone, I like to leave a few days free for whatever sounds good on the spur of the moment; however, I've learned that budget-wise planning ahead can really help, so a couple weeks before leaving, I decided to plan my "alone" days.
A travel director that I worked with this year told me that if she had three days to spend by herself anywhere in the UK, she would most definitely choose Bath. Known for its ancient Roman ruins and the only natural hot springs in the UK, there's a lot of history dating back to the Roman era in the first century AD. Who knew? Prior to this conversation, the only thing I knew about Bath was that Tears for Fears is from there.
It's also not far from Stonehenge, but going to Stonehenge without Randy seemed like going with Melanie to see the next Bourne Identity movie. Some things you gotta save for the "date."
I stayed at Pratt's Hotel which was pretty similar to the Britannia in lots of ways, except they had a better breakfast in a fancier room. For $28, the Britannia made me happy. For $100 per night (on a hotels.com "deal"), Pratt's was less than I had hoped for, but it was adequate and the location was amazing..a short walk from the train station, and right around the corner from the Abbey, the Roman Baths, and lots of shops.
Determined to be the ultimate tourist, I settled in when my delayed train arrived and went to the tourist information center, where I found out that there are free walking tours every day in Bath...truly free--no tipping allowed even.
After that, I walked into Bath Abbey, which is also free but suggests a donation for the very expensive upkeep of this 1611 building, whose floors and walls are lined with tombstones. I love to read the mini-obituaries carved into tombstones from the 1500-1800s. They had such a way with words.
Walking near all the shops, I heard beautiful opera singing from a street performer raising funds for animal welfare.
Dinner was simple. I went to M&S Simply Food to pick up some basic snacks & groceries for the room and stayed in watching tv once it got dark. This is budget travel, after all.
ROMAN BATHS, CROSS BATHS, & WALKING TOUR!
The next morning, I was up bright & early for breakfast and a walk around the corner where I was the first guest at the Roman Baths. This meant I couldn't really get any pictures that I was in until other tourists showed up...
It's amazing to me to see something that dates back to the first century and realize what a central religious and social site this was to the community. The museum inside had a lot of information. I found it very interesting and slightly disturbing to hear about how the names of gods were changed and personalities of gods merged into one god to suit the combined cultures in the city. There are probably long and intelligent articles that could be or have been written on that, but I don't think I'm the one to do it. Instead, I will show you a freaky picture of how they reconstructed what this guy looked like using his skeleton.
Floors were heated by raising them with stacked tiles and letting the hot springs flow through.
Cross Baths across the street from the Abbey, frequented by royalty in the 16th-18th century. Rebuilt in 1789 this is how they look now.
The Roman Baths took up most of my morning, and after a quick lunch at the hotel room and a visit to some shops, I walked back to the Baths to meet up with the free walking tour. Our tour guide Roger was hard to hear and a bit dry, but seriously knowledgeable about the history of Bath, and he walked us all around the city for 2+ hours. We saw the Royal Crescent
the Pultney Bridge, a 1773 bridge over the river Avon, which happens to also be the only bridge in the UK with shops in it.
and got a general feel for the city.
THE BATHS = NO PHOTOS PLEASE!
The Thermae Bath Spa is the modern hot springs spa, and despite my fear of swimsuits, and forgetting to pack one, I felt that I wouldn't really have "done" Bath without visiting. Over lunchtime, I had stopped into the major department stores to (ugh!) shop for a suit--swimsuits are sold year round in Bath. After several trips to the dressing room, I found a good one at M&S, so after dinner I grabbed my hotel towel and my suit and walked around in circles until I found the spa.
What a great decision! I was feeling pretty alone so I prayed for friends again, and when I walked out of the dressing room, someone said, "I almost bought that suit today." I made fast friends with Nathalie from Swindon and her husband's cousin Pervina - Sri Lankan, but from New Jersey these days. We explored the four scented steam rooms, the rain forest shower, the roof top pool, and the tidal pool in the lower level of the spa. I haven't felt that clean since the sauna at Jonathan Rundman's grandpa's UP cabin followed by a jump in a lake. I slept great that night.
After all this activity, I was beat and craving Indian food so I stopped in a local take away and the let the Indian on duty tell me what I wanted because although I like Indian food, I don't know my way around the menu well. This worked out great because they wound up giving me more than I paid for, and I had the spiciest vindaloo I've ever eaten over a long phone conversation with Randy.
DAY 3
FASHION MUSEUM
Ok, although there is a lot of talk about hot water in Bath, there is also the Fashion Museum, which I had to visit. My Day 3 mission was to find my way back to the Fashion Museum which Roger had pointed out on the walking tour, and see all the clothes.
About a 15-minute walk from Pratt's later, I arrived too early and thought I'd try to find some free wifi, which I found at Jika Jika. This was a GREAT FIND. The atmosphere was cool, and the smell of coffee was amazing. I take cream & sugar in my coffee but I ordered an Ethiopian blend that recommended it be taken black, so I rolled w/ the punches and was served personally by the barrista at my table who came out to thank me for not bastardizing this blend like so many of their casual customers. I could see it meant a lot to him, which I found heartwarming and a little disturbing all at once.
FASHION MUSEUM
Note: They had audio guides but they weren't really working on many of the displays as they were in transition. Worth asking ahead if that is a big deal to you. I just wanted to see the clothes.
The Fashion museum , known as the Museum of Costume until 2007, displays clothes from long ago, like this dress which would have been worn in the presence of royalty. That would definitely camouflage a big butt--or maybe it was meant to give the impression of wide child bearing hips! Perhaps there is a hidden drink holder somewhere in the hip section?
...to modern trends and iconic fashion. Remember the J-Lo dress? (Using the term loosely of course?) We all saw it, but did you really see it close enough to notice...
the bedazzled undies that keep it from showing everything? It's really hard for me to believe that anyone would wear this in public!
I tried a few of the more "old fashioned" accessories on, and quickly realized why this era of woman typically had someone help her get dressed!
On my way back, I spent some time talking to a street paper vendor whose dog Ike reminded me a lot of Diego.
and then I packed up my bags and got on a train to LONDON!
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