Holiday In Bath

This year I had my first real holiday since I started working. Previously I had only taken long weekends in places like Durham and Whitby. We ( Rachael and I) took a five days in the historic city built around ancient springs in a bend of the river Avon.
More general information about Bath can be found at www.aboutbritain.com/towns/Bath.asp and www.bath.co.uk.

Traveled from Edinburgh on the 9am train to Birmingham, changed for the Bristol train and then changed at Bristol for the train to Bath. Arrived in Bath at approx 5pm. There was no air conditioning on the train from Birmingham. The guard handed out ice lollies.
 
Checked in at the B'n'B. We dined at the "The Hole in the Wall" on gorge str, one of Baths most famous resturants. Rachael had Mushroom crumble and I had musels. Good food if slightly rich, resturant decor was worth note. Afterwards we wandered down George street and found "The Porters Pub" a vege-bar the nback to the B'n'B for a long nights sleep after a long days travel. Bath was very humid today. Some news about a petrol blockade.

Up early 6.30am, drank coffee in bed and read book/watched news. Oil refinary blockade escalating. Sat for breakfast at 8.15am. Rachael had rabit food, I had a full English breakfast ( two rashers of bacon, two local sausages, fried egg, two halves of a fried tomatoe and fried mushrooms). Already the temperature is 297K (22^oC) in the shade.
 
Arrived at the ruins of the Roman baths at 9.30am. Very impressed with the quality of the work. Most of it is intact, although a lot of the super structure ( big arched roofs) is gone and some of the pillars are Victorian. Took lots of pictures. Very taken aback about just now advanced Roman engineers are. They even had central heating which warmed the floor and walls!
 
Instead of having a guide to take you around the baths there are handheld audio devices with small numberpads and some basic controls, e.i. pause fast-forward stop etc. On the walls of the baths there are numbers, if you type the number into the handheld you get an audio guide of that section of the ruins. I thought that this was a very effective andd efficient way of presenting the baths even if it did make everyone look like they all were using mobile phones :-). We stayed untill 11.30am.
 
We had lunch at the "Green Cat Café" on Northumberland Place a narrow ally way near the baths. Rachael had stuffed peppers, I had a double decker tuna sandwick. by now the temperature was 302K (27^oC) so bought a couple of books and sat under a tree by the Avon reading untill the afternoon heat wained.
 
By 3pm it had cooled dome some and we wnet for coffe at a nearby Starbucks. I had a large black coffee Rachael had hot chocolate. Then we went back to the B'n'B beacuse we needed to move to the room we would be stendingthe rest of the holiday in. it was in an independant building at the back of the B'n'B, huge double bed and en-suite. After we had settledin,washed and changed we wnet to "The Porters Pub" for dinner and drinks. Rachael had Rotatoe, I had Spinich Lasanga, followed by a few drinks before heading back home.

Woke at 6am and drink coffee in bed with Rachael while reading Pratchets "Liost continent". Had waffles for breakfast, not he bet waffle I've ever had. The humid weather has ment htat I'm running out of clothes faster than i had intisipated so I brought a shirt and two t-shirts fom M&S. The nhad more coffe in Starbucks, today it's 302K (27^oC) and very humid, again.
 
Luch was served at the "Green Cat Cafe". Rachael had stuffed vuvumbers and I had another tuna sandwich ( they are quite good). Lazy day due to the heat.
 
We wnt out for dinner at the "The Moon & Sixspence" expensive but very good food. Rachael had veg + more veg. I had duck+veg.

Woke 6.45am. Breakfast followed the usual coffe and Prachet in bed. Rachael had branflakes and toast, I had yogurt and coffe and toast. Arived at the Museum of Costume, looked around it from 10:30 - noon. We weren't alloed to take photos. Some very good examples of Victorian custume, crinolines, busltes and corsets. Wandering back to the center of town down little side streets we found the "Centre of Antiques" a large multistored building divided up into small antiques stores.. At he top was a small cafe ("Lovejoys" how drol) at which we had coffe and lunch(R: mushroom toasted snadwich; M: Ham mushroom sandwich). We found a chestnut roaster for our open coal fire.
 
We headed back t thte centre of Bath ready to explore the Abbey. made u pfor the lack of pictures of the Custume museum in the Abbey. Took loads and loads. Rachael and I sat on a pew to edit them out of memory so I had room left. The afternoon was hot and sticky, we tried to find a bus that woukd take us to Cheddar gorge which is only a few miles south from us. However it turns out that any busse from Bath to cheddar go via Wells and its a two hour trip each way ! Two hours in a bus in this weather do not appeal. So we sat in a square out side the Abbey listening to street artists and reading together.
 
Later we explored some more of the shops in the centre of Bath, before headng off for dinner in "The porters Bar" (R: spicy veges ; M: soup lasanga+chips. dRank lots then retired to bed.

Woke 6.45am. usual morning routine. had breakfast allown as I'd managed to piss Rachael off. So we later wandered into town and had brunch. We looked in at he Victorian Art Museum, hich was cool. I'ts just by the famous bridge over the Avon. Made up to Rachael by paying for a boat cruise upstream. Pretty but vold so afterwards we had dinner in a cavernous cafe overlooing the Avon. It was bild into the lower left ( looking upstream) ofthe bridge. Called "The River side Cafe" we both had Tortoa wraps with side salad. In the evening we had dinner at the "Carpenter and Walruz" some American hamberger resturant. Rachael da Mushroom Musaka and I had Vege-burger and chips. Back at the B'n'B in time for Anny MacBeal. Weather was coler today.

Travelled home to Edinburgh today. Had a full english to keep me going. Good job too as the Virgin ( never use them again) train was 2½ hours late getting into Glasgow. Needles to say the conection to Edinburgh was long gone, but GNER (hurray) was king enougth to take us. The fuel crisis ment that there wasn't any buses so we hailed a taxi. Collapsed in bed after a long days travel.

All in all Bath was everything wee needed it to be. Small quiet and compact. We spent lots of proper quality time together. After we returned home Rachael told me that she was "very happily married" which made me feal great, so I gave her a big hug, not letting go untill morning.