Bath

Our first stop in the UK was Bath as we wanted somewhere to relax a little after our long international flights and we were able to arrange a direct bus. On arriving to Bath we checked into a cute little BnB, a small splurge to ensure we could catch up on some well deserved sleep, and went for a small walk around the town in search of some food and as Ryan had been looking forward to - a pint of English lager. After months of South American food we enjoyed a steak pie with mushy peas and a fresh salad, with a warm English lager made in the local area.

After a good long sleep we got up to a beautiful sunny day in Bath and enjoyed a breakfast made from locally sourced meats and produce from the local area. Ready and recovered from our jet lag we were keen to see what Bath had to offer, starting with the Jane Austin centre. Due to my studies of the satire in her works (year ten English) and the love of Pride and Prejudice, I was keen to see this small museum where you get a talk on her life, focus on her time spent in bath and a tour through the various artifacts from her life and a number of her private letters. The visit to the centre was really interesting and depicted a her very interesting life in Bath when her family wealth rapidly decreased after the death of her father. I now want to read Northanger Abbey to get more of a sense for Jane Austin's experiences in Bath. After our visit, we were quick to walk over to a gravel walk, known as lovers lane in Jane Austin's day finishing in the privileged area of houses known as the circus.

After the Jane Austin centre we wander the streets of bath, until Ryan found the London camera exchange where he was hoping to pick up a new camera. After a quick stop in we emerged with an impressive array of camera stuff I don't understand that Ryan assured me was essential. We then toured through the town to test out the new camera, past the roman Baths, the abbey and the putney bridge were Les Misérables was filmed - the scene were Javert jumps into the water.

After giving the new camera a good work out we decided to go into the Roman baths, built by the Romans in 44AD to enjoy the thermal springs that bubble to the surface here. The museum was excellent, with facades from the original temples and building, models of how the complex looked when it was built and detail descriptions of the piping and drainage to continually refresh the waters in the baths. Right at the end of the walk through the baths there was even an opportunity to drink the medicinal waters that bubbled directly from the spring, while Ryan wasn't too impressed with the taste, I drank plenty of water in the hope of curing my ailments, unfortunately the allergies I have been suffering since arriving in the UK did not improve.

After a couple of days taking it easy in Bath we were both excited to explore the city of London.
- Louise -