Introduction to Bath

Since my arrival in England, there's one word that fully captures what I've seen so far - charming. It's as if I stepped into a chalk drawing that's come to life. The landscape surrounding the Bristol International Airport all the way to Bath is full of rolling green hills dotted with fluffy sheep just as I've seen in many of the Jane Austen movies. After a long journey leaving me completely exhausted, my eyes soaked in this beauty as if they were parched lips, allowing the peacefulness and rustic quaintness to meander directly to my heart, causing it to smile. I am really here. My spreadsheet full of dates, numbers, and locations is alive, beating with every step I choose to take.

Yesterday, I took a cab from the Bath Spa train station to my B&B but no one was there to let me in. It was almost 7pm and the light outside was beginning to fade. I was tired. I was beginning to get concerned. I sat on my suitcase and waited. After a few more rings of the doorbell and a phone call attempt, one of the owners opened the door. I'm not sure what happened but by that point, I didn't care. I was so thankful to be shown my room, take a hot shower, and sleep in a bed. It's a small room but it's fine for my purposes and has all I need.

Morning came a bit too soon but started out pleasantly with a hearty breakfast made by the husband, one of the owners of this husband and wife team. An array of fresh fruit with Mango (yum!), yoghurt, cereal, juice, coffee, tea, toast, lined the buffet table in the breakfast room which looked out the bay window into their garden. The sleep did wonders as well as the coffee and omelet cooked to order from the menu. I needed the strength because today I would be introduced to the city of Bath.

I made my way to the Abbey in the city center where I would meet up with the Jane Austen walking tour, which not only pointed out facts about Jane's life and inspirations for her books, but it gave me an orientation of the city. Bath tourism offers a free self-guided walking tour of Jane Austen sights with downloadable narration of each point to put on your ipod which I think is an amazing idea. I wanted to be part of the tour so I could meet other people and have someone else lead the adventure. I wanted to be a follower. :)

The hour and a half walk amongst such history and beautiful architecture was breathtaking. I was especially excited to see the Royal Crescent and the Assembly Hall which were film locations for her book Persuasion. Seeing these sights in person was like recognizing a friend in a crowd causing a grin to spread across my face. We ended the tour at the Jane Austen center. Amongst the gimmicky trinkets in the gift shop and rare collector's edition books worth at least $800 or more, I found a copy of a prayer she wrote which inspired me and increased my like for this author a bit more. She's a woman of wit, humor, common sense, courage, confidence, and faith.

I headed back to the Abbey center to see the Roman Baths. I was given an audio phone that corresponded to numbers posted around the facility. To hear a specific commentary, I entered the number. By the end of my time there, it was almost like a mini-scavenger hunt to find all the numbers.

The baths are natural hot springs the Romans thought to have healing powers and therefore became sacred. The Romans built a series of bath facilities around the hot springs to make it like a modern day spa with dressing rooms, massage rooms, Jacuzzis, hot tubs, and cold pools all made out of stone and elaborate Mosaic work. It was spiritually and socially the place to come and be seen. People would offer animal sacrifices as well as curse suggestions written on pewter to the goddess Minerva, hoping she would enforce justice on their behalf. Some of the issues people wrote about were quite petty and the curses severe usually ending in someones blood spilled or an eternal plague.

Walking through this piece of history and seeing the alter allowed me to step back in time to see what life might have been like for them, all the ongoing effort these early people made to be physically and spiritually healed, especially when it came to making animal sacrifices. I was thankful we don't have to do that anymore. The last physical sacrifice for our spiritual healing came 2,000 years ago and it stuck. Thank you, Jesus!

At the end of the tour, I went to the Pump Room for afternoon tea which is connected to the Roman Baths. It's a grand room with ornate ceilings and a beautiful chandelier. I must say I now have a strong fascination for chandeliers ever since I made one out of plastic water bottles.
I enjoyed finger sandwiches, scones, and mini desserts while the instrumental styling of the pianist wafted throughout the room, intermingling with the sunlight shining through the warped glass windows. It is here I enjoyed my spiced tea drinking it with my pinky up!

I meandered throughout the town, down semi-familiar streets that I had been down this morning, taking more pictures, and finally came back to my room. I ended up taking the long way because I went down the wrong street. Boy, that street curved in the opposite direction! My feet are tired but I had a fabulous day being introduced to this charming city.