The rest of our time in Bath was quite lovely and relaxing. The night after our visit to Jane Austen Centre, we took the Bizarre Tour: The Comedy Walk, which I highly recommend as evening entertainment. The tour guide was very funny and did a couple of neat (though somewhat eccentric) magic tricks. One includes tying a woman’s wedding ring to a balloon and letting it fly away… do not volunteer your beloved jewelry to him if you are faint of heart is our advice.
I loved the town’s historical sites like the Roman Baths. It’s amazing how well-preserved it is and how much we can glimpse into the lives of Roman people hundreds of years back. I am a little bit of a geek when it comes to history, mostly because I find it so fascinating to be walking on the same floors and touching the same walls that people did centuries ago. Some times, it’s hard to wrap your mind around the thought that so many civilizations has already run its courses before us… and everything had been vastly different back then.
The Roman Baths was an incredible evidence of lifetimes long gone.
The bath was built over a natural hot spring and it was easy to imagine why people would spend hours just hanging out there to bathe. One of the historical interpreters explained to us that it was one of the rare and accessible source of hot water for people in England, where the weather was usually pretty cold. Pilbeam and I took advantage of the low tourist crowd and settled down to relax by the water.
You are not supposed to touch the water. According to wikipedia.com, a young girl died from the brain eating amoeba that lives in these waters… AHHHHHH!!! I totally touched the water, but I guess since I didn’t swallow any, I should be okay…! But yes, the water is not completely safe which is why no one is allowed to swim in these hot springs anymore. There is no harm or rules against sitting right next to the water and lounging as long as you can though. The sun was pretty warm that day too, lucky for us… like they say: ‘when in Rome!’ or at least, when you’re pretending to be Roman.
After the baths, we went to Sally Lunn’s and I had some tea plus really delicious food. They are popular for the Sally Lunn’s buns: giant, brioche bread that they use for everything, including their cream tea and sandwiches. The site that they operate in is also known as the oldest house in the city where they have excavated a cellar and preserved its old kitchen. Continue reading
