Easter Break: Bath - March 26-28, 2013

We arrived in the evening on the 26th, but we really didn't get to do anything other than check in to the hostel. The next day, our only full day, we wanted to go to Stonehenge, so i found a tour company that took buses directly from Bath to Stonehenge for a 3 hour total trip. To waste time until departure, we went into the Bath Abbey to take a look around. The trip to Stonehenge was awesome, the countryside during the drive was beautiful and we got to see a chalk image of a horse on the side of a hill. Stonehenge was just amazing, the mystery behind it so interesting. Who were these people who moved giant stones long distances to create such a structure? It is definitely something that people need to see. That afternoon, we went to the Roman Baths, another amazing part of Bath. We got to learn the history of it and of the Romans in that area and imagine what used to be with the help of models and audio guides. After that, I wanted to see the Jane Austen Centre, so we parted ways for the evening. I really enjoyed learning about Austen's life in Bath as she is one of my favourite authors. When that was done, i continued walking up the hill until I came upon a wonderful sight. The Circus and the Royal Crescent. They were both built in Georgian times by a father and son duo - the father's idea and the son's work. The father had begun the movement to create a beautiful Bath using Sandstone. Bath is probably the prettiest city i have ever seen, as much of the city centre and older areas are very uniform and stunningly simple. The sun was setting, so i returned to the hostel for the night.

The next day, we started out back up the hill as i showed by travel buddy the Royal Crescent. We also wandered through the park in front of it, stepping into a Georgian model garden for a bit. As I wanted to go to the Fashion museum, we once again parted ways. I spent a good amount of time going back through the centuries of fashions and then peeking into the assembly halls that Jane Austen would have danced in when she lived in Bath. I went back down the hill after that to get lunch and then i went back up to find the Building of Bath Museum, which spoke of the Georgian remodeling of the city and the architecture. It was really cool to see how they created the details in the plaster and the iron work, etc. After that, i went down to the Pultney Bridge, a bidge with shops along it, like the Ponte Vecchio in Florence. On that bridge I tried my very first european macaroon. It was pretty good, but i don't fully understand the hype about them. As i continued, I found Great Pultney Street, another Georgian architecture beauty and also a very fashionable place to live in Austen's time. They have filmed many period pieces on that street and Austen herself lived on it for 3 years. At the end of that street, there was a free museum, so of course, i went into it and looked at the paintings and antiques. On the way back into city centre, i found the modern art museum, which had an amazing photography exhibition on display. I still had some time to kill before the train, so i went down to the shopping area to look for boots. Mine had been falling apart so luckily i managed to find a cute pair of black booties. That was the end of my Bath adventure. I really loved it there, with its many hills and stunning architecture. I definitely want to go back one day.