Weekend 1: Bath + Cotswolds edition

** EDIT: I realize the picture medleys might be a little smaller than the regular pictures, but if you click on them, they should enlarge a little. I just had so many pictures (504!!) from this weekend and wanted to share them... without having a mile long post!


Early Saturday morning, Emily and I left the flat for the train station in route to Bath! Charlotte took a later train and met us in the city at the Bath Abbey. Bath Abbey is a pretty central point, and despite the major crowds of touring foreign school groups, we found each other and began our exploration!

Views of the Abbey. The grey skies were from Saturday, while the perfect blue was on Sunday.

In order to get the best understanding of Bath, we took a tour with a volunteer guide, Barry. He was very informative and amusing while he took a group around for a two hour walking tour. He made sure we recognized the important landmarks, and threw in historical facts and trivia as well. Charlotte, who is a history buff, kept him on his toes with her questions!

1. One fourth of the Circus, a segmented circle of curved condos/apartments

2. Barry was easy to spot with his bright orange shirt!

3. Lots of pretty flowers

4. Emily with the Pulteney Bridge

5. In addition to the Abbey, there were other churches in Bath

After the tour, we toured the Roman Baths. There was a cell phone-ish machine that played an audio guide and told about the displays and models. I was absolutely amazed at how old the baths and the artifacts were... the Romans began building around the hot springs around 40 AD!

Key player for Bath's popularity: Queen Mary of the seventeenth century... Queen Mary had previously been very unsuccessful at being able to conceive, but after bathing in the spa, she gave birth nine months later.

1. The supposedly healing Roman Bath, which are hot springs

2. Charlotte, Emily, and I

3. Charlotte and I taking a sip of the (notoriously bad-tasting) spa water... yes it was bad, but we each finished our glass!

4. Signs for the Roman Bath

The Royal Crescent, also condos/apartments, looks out on a very wide large to give its former noble tenants a sense of true country while still in their chic quarters. The wall was used to keep out sheep!

The Pump Room of the Baths, where a cup of afternoon tea (or Bath water) is available for your pleasure.

After the Baths, we hit the streets looking for some lunch. We ate at the Pig and Fiddle, and liked it so much we came back later that evening. While unwinding in the evening, a lot of people came in the pub dressed up as cavemen, dinosaurs, and just plain weirdos. We were pretty confused, and a few locals said they were dressed up for "hen and stag" parties, which are like our bachelor and bachelorette parties... only with a much more embarassing dress code!

1. Emily at our lunch spot, the Pig and Fiddle

2. Emily putting our backpacks in the hostel lockers

3, 4. The Bath YMCA hostel was actually really nice!

5. Emily and Charlotte going up the stairs to our dorms

We spent the night at the Bath YMCA hostel. It was the first hostel experience for all of us, and we were pleasantly surprised! Emily and I stayed in the 14 bed female dorm. We talked to several of the girls, including a German girl who was traveling around by herself. I think as far as hostels go, this one was top notch.

An all day affair: our transportation for the Mad Max's Cotswolds tour is the second bus

On Sunday, we enjoyed a nice continental breakfast at the YMCA and walked to the meeting point for our Cotswolds tour. My mom and I had heard about the tour from my Rick Steve's book, and I was crossing my fingers that it would be good! Although the tour can fit up to sixteen people, our group was a small seven so it was a more intimate affair.

This was a hotel. The grounds were gorgeous and there was a little stream in the back... gorgeous! I wish we could have seen the inside! Gary said several movie stars, such as Michelle Pfeiffer, have stayed in the big manor hotels that are in several cities.

Throughout the tour (which lasted from 9AM to 5PM) we traveled around the countryside in a little bus. The tour guide, Gary, was the driver and donned a headset so he could talk while driving. (His other job: a driving instructor in Bath so we were in good hands!) We made stops at little villages on the way. The stop lengths varied depending on the villages and quality of photo potential!

I love the vined covered buildings!

1. Our Dayton, OH friends from the tour: John and Barb

2. Gary, the guide

3. Charlotte on the bus.

4. Queen's Head, our lunch pub at Stow-on-the-Wold

5. Street signs at the trout farm in Bibury

6. Dry stone wall: a fixture in the countryside that Gary loved

6. An entrance to a hotel in Bibury

Emily, myself, and Charlotte on a picturesque street

It doesn't get more English countryside than sheep! We got pretty close while walking

At one stop, the Upper and Lower Slaughters, we took a half hour walk on the public walkway that connects the little towns. We walked through fields among the grazing sheep and enjoyed the blue skies! Separting the fields were "kissing gates", zig zagged gates that only allow one person through at a time.

I had a great time on our English countryside adventure. Bath was a fun area to explore on our own, and the ancient history is truly amazing! The Sunday tour was super relaxing and absolutely gorgeous! As Emily said later, after reviewing her photos, "the pictures don't do it justice." I feel like I have covered both sides of England: urban London and the bucolic Cotswolds area.

Up next: another busy week of discussion and sight seeing!