More of delightful Bath!

"Nothing is more elegantly magnificent. Amongst its charms are shady groves, many pleasant streams and transparent fountains. Above all the nature of the place is formed for delight, for the very hills themselves (by which the city is surrounded) seem to smile...not only are its streets neat and elegant, but all its parts speak of the antiquity and nobility of its origin. Add to that the perennial flow of heated springs marvellously supplied for the benefit of man, by which men, high and low, rich and poor, receive cure of all their maladies."


....Libellus de laudibus Civitatum, 1452


Well, 600 years later, I agree with Libellus, whoever he was! I copied the above out of a tiny Bath book I bought. Visiting Bath was one of the highlights of the trip for me!
Here are my notes from Sat July 22:
Matthew has just about finished that huge book! We're sitting in the Cardiff Station. We paid 4.90 pounds for a taxi to get here but I'm so sick of the half hour walk and it's raining again. We're off to Bath for the whole day.

We saw the Circle; there are swimming pools built underneath the streets! Rich people still live here. I think the yellow stone looks monotonous but I love the layout of Bath. We had tea and buns (absolutley SUPERB) at the oldest house in Bath, built in the 1400's. The name of the teashop is Sally Lunn's Buns. Isn't that funny? Apparently she began to sell her buns and the rich loved them. The recipe is a secret. The ceilings and floors in the house are slanted. We went into the basement to see the original kitchen (ugh!) and on the other side were the ruins of Roman and medieval buildings. It stank and was worse than the cyrpts I've been in!! I had to get out fast...it gave me a horrible bad feeling.

We went back on our tour bus, as the tickets are good for 3 days. The sun was shining and it was beautiful. We never did get into the Abbey Church, as it's only open at certain times, but we sat in the square and listened to various street musicians. We looked in a few shops on Pulteney Bridge, which was neat, and I bought a tiny miniature book, "Northanger Abbey", by Jane Austen. It's hand made in Bath and you can read the print with a magnifying glass.

Below are two photos showing the swollen Avon River, which we enjoyed walking beside. It was a wonderful day. We ate supper in a Moroccan restaurant before heading home on the train.