Thursday, April 22, 2010

drinking BATH water

As a Jane Austen addict, I was so excited to spend the day walking the beautiful streets of Bath. Jane spent many years in this incredible city, and I couldn't help but think the gorgeous architecture and historic sites were so Pride and Prejudesque!

We toured the Roman baths, which were built in approximately 45 AD. The baths are built on a natural hot spring, and the Romans considered it not only a place of hygiene, but a place of worship.


The Roman baths were unfortunately destroyed, but in the 12th Century the English royalty built baths of their own right on top of the remains. Eventually, the royal baths were built over as well. The Roman baths were discovered (nearly 12 feet under the current ground level) in the 1800s.
And thus the Ancient Roman baths were re-born and the city of Bath was once again alive with people desiring to see the mysterious water and be blessed by its healing power.


The end of the tour brought us into the Pump Room where we were allowed to personally taste the Bath water. The hall was white and crisp and I loved picturing all my favorite Jane Austen characters drinking water in that same room.


So, maybe the water tastes like sulfur and is super warm, no big deal. Supposedly it's super healthy for you. I'm just glad I don't have to drink it all day long like they did in the olden days.

It's true...we felt a little bit like the aristocracy while we drank our natural spring water in Bath.


Mitch and Jo were SO much fun to spend the day with. Jo was in the same situation as Jim's mom (her flight was cancelled) but I'm so glad we made the most of it together. They are awesome girls.


We walked through parks. We walked in neighborhoods. We walked by the river Avon. We walked the streets of Bath, how cool is that?

2 comments:

  1. How Cool? Way Cool! So glad that you had such a fun day - all you need now is one of those beautiful dresses that they wear in the Jane Austen movies!

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  2. What a great way to spend a day--an unbelievable place!

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