bath and avebury, part I

I hadn't realized it, but after living in London for three weeks I needed a trip outside of the city. Through my program we are able to buy discounted daytrips to different parts of the country and this past Saturday I got to visit Bath and Avebury. Despite the traffic and the early morning departure, I had a great time driving through tiny towns and along country roads. I found myself trying to incorporate the England I was living in with the England of so many books and movies and history - it's actually quite a surreal thing to be driving along a road and see where Jane Austen lived (I saw it! In Bath!)

These photos are from the first part of the trip, our afternoon in Bath. We arrived and immediately went through a tour of the natural hotsprings and museum, then were given an hour to roam around and find lunch (we managed to find fresh baguette sandwiches and cream tea). Then our tour guide offered an optional tour guide of the city center, and our group of four girls were the only ones to take him up on his offer - we ended up with a private tour by a certified guide through the city! Too soon it was time to go, but I am seriously debating a train ride down to Bath again, without the big group, to see more of the beautiful limestone city.

Bath Abbey - nicknamed 'The Lantern of the West' because
of all of its windows

The entrance to the baths - the buildings in Bath are made of
limestone mined from local quarries

The ceiling in the entrance hall to the bath and museum

The bath - natural hot springs - rainwater trapped
underground for thousands of years.

The oldest remaining relic of the Roman's presence of Britain - a stone frieze

This skeleton proved the Roman use of the hot springs -
this 45 year old man came from the Mediterranean
 and was found in Bath (formerly called Aquae Sulis after the
Latin word for water 'aquae' and the pagan water goddess 'Sulis').

The ancient Roman drainage system for the hot natural water

A covered shopping promenade - in the Victorian period
courting couples would stroll along while listening to live music
played from the space on the second story.

A park along the river Avon

English cream tea in front of the abbey (from a tea shop
called The Mad Hatter)

Detail from the abbey front - a ladder with ascending
(and one descending!) angels

The buildings in Bath are made from limestone
 and would look like this if not washed regularly