It's been a long but incredible day. My alarm went off at 4:30 this morning. I just almost rolled over and went back to bed, but I convinced myself that I would really regret it if I didn't get up and go to Bath and I'm so glad I went. I made the 5:25 train to St. Pancras and slept most of the way there. Then I got on the tube, went over to Paddington, got on a different train to Bath and slept most of the way there. It was probably a good thing because I don't think I would have made it through the day if I hadn't. The train had a lot of delays, but I actually caught an earlier train than I planned to (because the rail website thinks the tube takes forever) and got to Bath right when I wanted to. Most of the stuff in Bath opens at 9, and I got there at 10 till.
Thanks to my wonderful flatmate Emily, I had a map of Bath and so I successfully navigated to the Abbey, Baths and tourist information. The tourist info didn't open until 9:30, so I went into the Abbey. The Abbey is a beautiful church, but not as developed as the other churches I've seen. It had a little pamphlet, but no huge tour or audio guide. I lit a candle and listened to the someone practice on the Organ after I'd made the loop of the church then headed back to the tourist info. I got a combined ticket for the Baths and the Fashion Museum (I'll tell you why when I get there) then I decided to head over to the Crescent, which had a house that you could go in that was restored to how it would look in the time of George III (Mad King George of Revolutionary War, well, American Revolutionary War, fame).
Bath is wonderfully walkable, so I headed up the hill to the Crescent and eventually found the house, No. 1 The Crescent. However, it didn't open until 10:30, so I went and walked the gardens that were just across the way. I actually wound up walking off the map. :) The gardens were beautiful and the scenery was lovely. I made it back to the house just after they opened and went inside. I have to say that it's great to travel as a student because you get a discount on everything. I got into the house and there are four rooms, plus the kitchens downstairs, that you can go in and there's a volunteer from the museum in each one who tells you all about the room. It was really neat.
Then I went around the circus, which is much like the Crescent, but a circle, and headed over to the Fashion Museum. The Fashion Museum used to be the Assembly rooms. THE place to be for the social season in Bath. They held dances, concerts, and other events there. Right now they have an exhibit on English movie costumes. They have ones from Pirates of the Caribbean (Capt. John Sparrow and Will Turner, of course) Ben Hur, Gladiator, lots of dresses from movies about the queens, as well as some other stuff. :) That's in what used to be the ballroom, where the dances were held. Then you move into the Octagon, where people would meet. I was reading Persuasion on the way back and one of the scenes talks about Anne and Capt. Wentworth meeting in the Octagon room. I had to sit back and take it in for a minute. I had seen that room. I now knew exactly where they were and what it looked like. It was kind of incredible. I also kept pulling the map out to see where everyone was staying. :)
But back to the Fashion Museum. The museum itself is downstairs. In honor of the royal wedding this year, the main showcase is about wedding dress through the centuries. They used to be day dresses, then became evening dresses as weddings were held later in the day, then became a style all their own. I have to say that some of the modern dresses were kind of ugly. You also got to go and look at their stores. They had everything divided by decade and you could walk along and watch the styles change. They do a thing called dress of the year, where someone (who is apparently knowledgeable in fashion) picks a dress that typifies that year. Again, some of the dress were interesting. The point is to keep the museum up to date, but I have to say I don't get high fashion.
After the Fashion Museum, it was getting close to one, so I headed to the bridge, looking for a cafe on the way. I almost got lost a couple of times, but I finally found the bridge, and on the corner was the cutest, most affordable, best cafe ever! got a baguette (which was heavenly) and a water bottle for 3 pounds. I went down to a park that was on one side of the river and sat on the wall while I ate lunch. They have an old Celtic maze, the kind with stone paths on the ground, in the park, so I took a few minutes and walked it after I finished lunch.
After lunch I went to the Baths. They have a really cool set up for the baths. There's a terrace that you walk around at street level that lets you look down at the Great Bath which is at Roman street level. Then you go down through a museum and then into the baths. The audio guides are awesome and really determine how long you spend there. If you stop and listen to everything, you could be there for hours. If you just look at the big stuff, then it only takes an hour and a half or so. I went through the baths at a pretty good pace. They were really neat, but I could only stare at them for so long. I got a nice lady to take my picture with the Great Bath behind me, so shout out to the really nice random lady.
With an entry to the baths, you also get a free glass of mineral water from the springs. It's an experience let me tell you. There's a fountain in the pump room and the waiter just grabs a glass and sticks it under one of the spouts. The water is warm (not luke warm, like just the cooler side of hot) and smells funny. If you drink it down, it's alright, but it leaves a funny taste in you mouth.
After the Baths, I wasn't ready to go home, so I kind of wandered around. I went back to the bridge and got a strawberry smoothie from the cafe I ate lunch at to wash the taste of the mineral water out of my mouth. I also found some great places to take pictures of the river. I wandered into the Guildhall, which was just a bunch of local shops, kind of an open air market, but with everything from hardware to fabric to used books. I looked at the used books, but they didn't have the Harry Potter book I was looking for. However, I can't walk out of a used books store (especially one like this, it was awesome) without a book, so I wound up with Agatha Christie's Death on the Nile. Which they also had some of the costumes for in the Fashion Museum. :)
After this I knew that I needed to go ahead and leave so I could get home at a reasonable time. I headed to the train station, but the next train didn't leave for another half hour, so I wandered around near the train station. I saw a street vendor with souvenir stuff and decided that I wanted something for myself from Bath, so I now have a Bath t-shirt. :) I like it.
I grabbed dinner at St. Pancras and made it home without any eventufulness. I'm going to bed now. And I'm going to sleep late tomorrow. And then it's back to the, currently, eighteen page paper. Hopefully to make it less than eighteen pages. Since McGee said at least ten... I think I qualify. :)
Thanks so much to everyone who's helping me edit. :D
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