April 17th Thursday

The Bath TAM students had class the next morning so we all had to wake up early. Leslie’s alarm went off at 7:00am and made me want to curl up and die. We got up and got ready. Leslie gave me some really good cereal that had granola and fruits in it.

We made our way into town. The plan was to meet up at the Starbucks so that they could go to class and my group could go do the tourist thing. Casey, Glynnis and I met up and started our day. We walked around and looked for a place to get breakfast for them. There was one with a really good deal so we decided to stop there. Only later did we find out how touristy it was. Casey and Glynnis got the full English but I wasn’t that hungry so I just got a sausage sandwich. It was pretty good. Casey and Glynnis let me eat the parts of their breakfasts that they didn’t want.

After breakfast, we went to the Roman Baths. We took a tour complete with audio guide. First you go out onto this upper level that looks down at the green water. It’s fueled by natural hot springs. You can see steam rising off of it. The baths are in the middle of town and you can see the abbey right there.

Once we made a round on the upper level, we went inside the main building. Here, they housed carvings and described how the baths were built. They had an ancient carving of a gorgon head. This is the symbol of Bath today. It was fascinating to see such old artifacts and wonder about the people who came here so long ago. They had old courtyards and other areas that were well preserved. After touring inside we went out to the area level with the bath. There were signs posted everywhere warning not to touch the water. It’s not safe to even touch. I looked at the murky water and wondered to myself if anyone had ever tried to get rid of a body in there. I guess I read too many murder mysteries.

There were more side rooms on this level. I was really interested in all the different rooms because I’d seen a documentary on TV some years ago that was about a group of men trying to build a Roman bath. I recognized the pillars of stones that kept the floor elevated. In the space they would pump hot air and heat the floors. There was also a cold plunge bath. This room was kind of creepy because the museum projected holograms on the wall of men wrapped (or not) in towels.

Before we left I bought some postcards and a bar of soap for my mom. We went outside and waited for Emily. She was going to come by after class and pick us up. It was cold outside so we went into a nearby store called BhS. The other two shopped around while I kept my eye open for Emily. Eventually I saw her come up and look around for us. I went out and brought her into the store. We decided to keep shopping in there. I came up on a table with bright green two piece swimming suits on sale. I looked at all the different styles of pieces. There was talk of going to the spa for Leslie’s birthday the next day and I’d forgotten my suit. I picked some styles and tried them on. I ended up getting a bikini type suit for only £8. It was very bright green but I thought the color would look fine on me.

Emily took us to a pub called the Pig and the Fiddle. It was dark and rustic looking. I really enjoyed the atmosphere. We selected a large round table that was near the fireplace. I was happy to see a fire crackling there. We had to go up to the bar to order. Emily ordered a pint of cider. She let me try it and I thought it tasted pretty good. I ordered one for myself. Since I hate beer, I was excited I got to finally order a pint of something. For lunch I had their special of the day which was cottage pie. It came out in an au gratin dish. There was a layer of ground beef topped with a layer of mashed potatoes and finished with a layer of cheese baked on. I also got fries on the side. It was absolutely delicious. Even though the cider filled me up quite a bit I cleaned my plate. I felt absolutely stuffed. We had a fun lunch talking about what we would be doing. Casey tried to order nachos but ended up getting nacho topping on top of French fries. I thought it looked pretty good but she seemed disappointed. Such an English thing to make nachos out of fries really.

After lunch we headed to Bath Abbey. We met up with Leslie there around 1:30pm. Casey and Glynnis had run of to find a bathroom or something so we waited for them in front of the abbey. There was a chocolate shop nearby. We went in and Leslie and Emily bought some chocolates. One of the ones that Emily bought was actually quite comical. It was in the shape of a penis. When we were all together she let all of us take bites of it. I believe I had one of its balls. Hopefully this makes my male readers cringe.

After that little fun we headed into the Abbey. (Everyone eats penis chocolate before going to church right?) They asked for a donation at the entrance. Emily dropped a coin and it went into a grate. I was able to fish it out with my long fingers. With how strong the pound is to the dollar we have to be careful.

We toured the abbey. It had one of the most amazing ceilings I’ve seen. It had intricate stone designs on it. We walked around and looked at everything. Then we went out a side door to the entrance of the crypt. They had original sculptures from the façade of the abbey and other artifacts. The most interesting was the whole skeleton that you could view through a glass floor panel. It even had its little skeleton arms crossed on its chest.

After the abbey tour, we went back to Leslie’s house. We were both exhausted from getting up so early so we decided it was nap time. Leslie let me use her computer to check my email but then I lied back and dozed for a while. We got ourselves up around 6:30pm. I got a shower and got ready. We decided to just make dinner at the apartment. Leslie made an amazing dinner. It was a salad with couscous, English cheese, and tomato. She also had bread with cheese on the side. They were cranberry, cheddar, and brie. It was all really delicious.

We went and met up with the gang in the larger house. We went in the basement kitchen and drank some wine. It was fun for me to see Keith again. He was my roommate in Chapel Hill so it was great to catch up.

We all went to a club called Opa. It was an underground bar and we had to go downstairs. It had a cool look to it. It had a bunch of stone arches in it. We had some fun dancing and hanging out. I had a whiskey and seven there. The club was pretty cool and it seemed like everyone was having fun.

We left and made our ways back home. It always felt so far and uphill to get to Leslie’s place. Apparently Emily’s was on top of an even bigger hill. I went to bed around 2:30am.