Bliss in Bath

In planning our trip, we decided to visit again some destinations we had enjoyed on other trips. The city of Bath, located on the edge of the Cotswolds, is on my list of Top 10 Cities in the world so today (Friday), we journeyed to this marvelous city once again.

We had some new experiences in Bath today ...

NEW FOR US!  Visiting the Jane Austen Center

You might assume that a woman who gave a Jane Austen book (below) to her first grandchild while she was a toddler ...

would enjoy the Jane Austen Center, right in the city where Jane spent part of her life. I did!

The place was fun, with presentations and displays and such ...

 

and gave me a chance to pose with (a mannequin of) Mr. Darcy ...

I also posed with the greeter, who has been named as the Most Photographed Man in England. One more couldn't hurt, right?

NEW FOR US! The Pump Room

Wow! I have always wanted to go to The Pump Room in Bath and not only was I with the most handsome man in the room, but also we had high tea. The room was gorgeous. The musicians played such fine classical music that sometimes we just stopped talking and listened. Below is a sample of photos I took to show you.

 

The Pump Room overlooks the Roman Baths (circa 60-70 AD!) -- from which the town of Bath gets its name. We toured the Baths last time so today we just did a quick peek out the window -- see Earl looking (below).

The Pump Room serves up some of the water, thought to have medicinal qualities, so Earl and I sampled it. Eww - lots of iron flavor!

Today in Bath we revisited two places we loved when we were last here.

REPEAT: The Royal Crescent

Thirty town-homes make up the Royal Crescent, built in 1774.

One of the homes, the first one in the row, known as #1 Royal Crescent, can be toured. I couldn't resist taking this photo of some sweet nuns outside #1 Royal Crescent.
 

We enjoyed touring #1 last visit so we repeated it today.  Below are some photos I took today including a scene out a window of #1.

REPEAT: The Bath Abbey

Again, I was a tad disappointed that this magnificent Anglican church was once Catholic but isn't Catholic now. But since it was built in the 8th century, there's bound to be a lot of history!

On the outside of the abbey on each side of the door, as you might see from my photo (above), is a ladder with angels climbing up to God. I love these ladders! I couldn't get decent photos of them so below I'm showing you photos from the internet. I especially hope Cecilia, Andrew, and Felicity like these angels as much as I do!

Outside and in, this Gothic church is stunning.

Being in such a magnificent church gets me in the mood for The Wedding tomorrow!

We did a bit of shopping in Bath but not too much, even though the stores were inviting.

Happily, we had no SHOWERS in BATH! It was a beautiful sunny day, with the high eventually around 65. We have been in England two full weeks and it only has rained once, when we were going to dinner one night. We are so fortunate!

Before you go, here's a funny sign we saw at the place we had lunch: