Touring Bath

We had been looking forward to visiting Bath for many reasons and it did not disappoint. Bath has always been on my list due to it's ancient Roman Baths and its general beauty. We were also excited because we were once again meeting my good friend Sian and this time, all three of her children. Josh was very excited to see William again after almost a year and they picked up right were they left off. Josh also really enjoyed introducing William to Andy and Joey. I thought just the three of them  were a circus, adding another one to the mix was craziness - but in a fun way! Nelly and Emily are Sian's two girls and they are so cute! Sian warned me in advance that there were whiny, etc, but they really weren't that bad at all. In fact, they were troopers - we did a lot of walking!

We began with Roman Baths. They were really very nice. You can tell it was part of a much larger complex, even though we can't see the whole thing today. All I can say, is thank goodness for audio guides - it kept the boys slightly interested and the girls enrapt. They wanted to listen to every bit of commentary. As such, they boys and everyone else were done well ahead of Sian, the girls and I! Still, it was very cool. The rectangular main bath was quite large and had a greenish hue - don't know if it would have been this way back in the day. As you walk along you can smell the sulpher and see the gases bubbling up in the water. They also have one of my favorite components of ancient baths - the sauna. You can always tell this room because it has little brick pylons remaining all over the floor. These would have supported the ancient floor and allow steam and heat to circulate beneath. Pretty cool! At the end of it, it was time to try a taste of the healing bath water. Jenn and I went into the Pump Room - the very fancy restaurant we had wanted to eat at, but took one look inside and saw how nice it was and realized. No way. Not with 6 children. Anyway, the water bubbled out of an old stone fount and a gentlemen there got a glass each for us - yuck! It was not tasty water. I don't care what it was supposed to heal - yuck!

By this time all the kids were dying of hunger, so we went off in search of a cheese shop that was on Jenn's list. We found it and it was small, and full of really great local cheese. The only problem was that it took a long time, so the natives got really restless. So, we went to the market to get sandwiches and ended up just eating there. Originally the plan was to get food and eat by the river, but everyone was too hungry by then. The Guildhall market, wasn't really anything special, just a food counter and some tourist type shops.

After this we toured Bath Abbey, because this one didn't cost 10 pounds a person to get in, like York Minster! It was nice inside. There were children giving a steel drum concert inside and that did generate a lot of noise! Nearby was Sally Lunn's - home of the Sally Lunn bun, which is sort of an enormous hamburger bun that tastes kind of like a croissant! Sally Lunn's was the first residence in Bath. The bun was good, if not quite what we were expecting! At this point, the Halter's were done and decided to head back. Fueled, by sweets - we pressed on with Sian's family! Sian bought a selection of typical English sweets like Acid drops, pears drops, and strawberries and cream drops. Little sucking candies really - and pretty tasty!

From this point it was mostly just wandering around. We walked up to the Circus, where rich people taking a holiday at the Baths would stay and also having some importance to Jane Austen. Finally, we ended up at the Royal Crescent - a large curving building of apartments that the REALLY rich people would have stayed in! This was probably the best part of our day there because the boys found some really cool trees to climb, so they had a great time. After awhile (and an increase in whining from the girls) we headed back to the tree station and it was great timing as Sian's train came within 5 minutes and ours within 10! Back at the hotel we struck out for dinner and on the way to the recommended restaurants we found a Wagamama. Done! It was a long, fun day!

Bath Abbey

Roman Baths

Roman Baths

Roman Baths

6 Kids we found in Bath

Royal Crescent

Royal Crescent

Tree Climbing Fun

William and Josh