City of Bath, Houses of Parliament

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I had a good day trip to the city of Bath yesterday. I took the train from Paddington Station to the city of Bath. It’s a 90-minute journey and there’s a lot to see there. Firstly, I took a (free) walking tour that emphasized Georgian architecture. Much of Bath was built in the 1700’s when successive kings named George were on the throne. Jane Austen fans will appreciate the familiar places such as The Assembly Rooms and The Pump Room where people used to gather to dance and play cards and socialize. The best sight, IMO, is the ancient Roman Baths. This is the only place in Britain where hot mineral water naturally bubbles out of the ground. So of course the Romans (two thousand years ago) built a bath complex on the site. I became so engrossed in my sightseeing that I had to take a later train back to London. Today I started out early at the Houses of Parliament. A couple of months ago I bought a ticket online and I dutifully arrived before 9AM for my tour. Parliament is not currently in session (annual summer recess), so there were no crowds and I got to walk quite freely through the corridors of power, including a visit to the chambers of the Commons and the Lords. From there I walked up to Trafalgar Square, passing the heavily-guarded Number 10 Downing Street. I had lunch at the National Gallery on Trafalgar Square and then spent much of the afternoon seeing the paintings. As a finale for the day, I rode in the top of a double-decker red bus to St. Paul’s Cathedral just to see the sights on the way. I have been lucky so far in terms of weather, but tomorrow it is supposed to rain, so I may be in for more indoor activities.

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