Bath, England

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Over the next two days I checked out Bath, and old Roman-influenced town not too far from Bristol. I knew that it was famous for the Roman baths as well as the Thermae pools. I've never been in any kind of thermal water source before. The Thermae has used Britain's only thermal springs and made public indoor and outdoor set of pools from it.

As I got here, the first place I went to after checking in was the Thermae. It was three in the afternoon, so I imagined I wouldn't have time for the Roman baths - which was just for sightseeing, not swimming in. Anyway, I got in, and booked myself a two hour session. I was free to spend that time on any of the three floors - the first floor had the indoor pool, the second floor had the steam room, and the third floor had the outdoor rooftop pool.

The water was pleasantly warm and extremely comfortable to swim in. It was mineral enriched and felt healthy on the skin - so I swam around and bathed in here for a while. It was probably the most relaxing part of my entire trip. This is a place worth visiting more than once.

The steam rooms were also pretty amazing. You would sit in this hot, steamy room, probably like a sauna, and you could smell all the minerals you were breathing in from the spring. I thought, how fantastic. I would definitely want to spend a bit of time in here. It was almost like a futuristic facility to me.

Then I went to the rooftop pool, where I spent the most time. It was raining a little bit, but that was of no concern; I was swimming in a warm, thermal pool, and outside, it was no more than 10 degrees.

After one more session in the steam room, I headed out. I was refreshed.

The next day, I checked out the Roman Baths - an ancient site, with a pool of the stuff. The water was green - and it was only for looking at, just like with every other ancient site around the world. From this point and onwards, I've been very interested in thermal springs, and I hope to visit some more in other parts of the world, particularly Iceland.

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