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Published: November 12th 2007
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We set off at 12:30 on Friday for Bath. We reached Bristol and hit traffic because a road was out, literally out - it had collapsed. But we made it to Bath by dinner time, checked into the YMCA and headed off to find some food. Siri, Joy, Carrie, Andrea, Kia, Abbi, Katie, and I went for Thai food and then went to go check out a movie theater. The first one we found was too expensive, so while most of the group went looking for another theater, Kia and I went and bought some chocolate and headed back to the YMCA to read and relax.
On Saturday we ate breakfast and then began to make our way to the Roman Baths. We went around the Abbey where Edgar had been crowned and waited for the Baths to open. Instead of a tour guide, we were provided with audio guides which were nice because we could move at our own pace. With audio guides you punch in the numbers that are posted on the wall so you only listen to what you want to hear about. However, some of the commentary was too long to stand looking at one object or
The Roman Baths
The main bath. It would have had a roof when it was first constructed and used. just gave too much information to take in. The Baths are no longer in use, of course, and the water is a lovely green and feathers can be found floating in it. Before you begin the tour they do tell you not to touch or drink the water. Above the main bath are about 10 Victorian statues of Roman figures, like Julius Caesar. There was a roof once covering the bath and protecting it from the elements but now it is open to the sky. The East and West Bath Chambers are covered but are much smaller than the main bath. The sacred spring can also be seen. The spring gushes hot water out of the earth which was why the baths were started here. The cool thing is that the water still comes out of the spring and is warm and we could see the steam rising off of it. I really liked seeing the carving of the Gorgon Head which the commentary pointed out looks more Celtic than Roman and the mosaic flooring that was left was really pretty too and depicted running horses. I was also thrilled to see the remains of a hypocaust system. This system
The Roman Baths
The bath with the Abbey in the Background and a statue in the Foreground. The statue is from the Victorian Period. of heating was made by stacking tiles but leaving spaces in between the stacks and then putting a floor on top of it. Warm steam would then be run under the floor and heat it. After the audio tour was complete, Kate and I checked out the gift shop and then headed to the Pump Room. The Pump Room contains a fountain of the spring water, which you can drink, and a restaurant. The restaurant is kind of Victorian and had a three piece ensemble playing music. That was kind of strange after the whole Ancient Rome part of the baths. The restaurant windows overlooked the street where fire eaters were performing. Kate and I got our free glass of spring water, took a sip, and nearly gaged. Aside from being warm, the water was really mineral-ly. Supposedly this had healing powers which was what got people interested in the baths during the Victorian era. So, we finished off our glasses, which made me feel slightly ill, and then found the others to go to the Fashion Museum. By far, my favorite thing about the Fashion Museum was trying on a corset and crenelin. I am not sure how people
managed to wear those restricting things - it was so hard to breath! The Fashion Museum is also in the Assembly Rooms, where balls or assemblies used to be held. We were able to see the card room but the rest of the rooms were closed, probably due to the Mozart festival that was going on. After the Fashion Museum we split up and Kia and I went in search of lunch. It was crazy busy everywhere but we finally found a relatively cheap lunch, even though we had to wait a while for our food. Then we headed off to the Jane Austen Centre. Jane Austen lived in Bath for five years of her life and also used it as a backdrop for some of her works, like Persuasion. We learned about her family - she had six brothers and one sister - and the time that she lived in. The one picture of Jane Austen from her time was painted by her sister, Cassandra. Also the BBC has just done a new version of Persuasion and many of the dresses that they used for it were on display. It was a pretty cool museum, but was housed in
The Roman Baths
The Gorgon Head a very small area. To end our stay in Bath, Kia and I walked through the Circus and Royal Crescent . We then wound our way back to the YMCA to join the others and climb on the bus for the journey to Salisbury.
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