Bath

So the drive to Bath was a lot shorter than we thought-only around 1.5hrs. For part of the drive, we were behind this guy (which you can't really tell here but there were multiple farm implements stacked on top of each other and strapped down on the back of this big truck). What appeared to be a till of some sort was sticking out on the left and was clipping off parts of the branches). I was afraid this mound of things was going to come toppling down on the road in front of us.

 

I was relieved when the road widened and we could hold our breath and pass him.

This was the first time we stayed at an AirBNB (it was a great way to stay in central Bath for a lot cheaper although it was still not cheap by any means--Bath is expensive!). It was very bare- we were commenting that the girl must be a gypsy. I do know that she works in London a lot so she rents out the place when she is not there. It was essentially a one room apartment with a bathroom and kitchen. Nothing fancy but it did the job.

Saturday we set out to take a boat down the Avon but when we found out there were just punts and row-boats to rent, we tried to find one of the guided boat trips, thinking that it may take too long and we wouldn't get to see as much if we set out on our own. Only, google maps steered us wrong multiple times in a row (I don't know what the deal is but it doesn't seem to work right in Bath) and we ended up walking all over creation instead. The good news was that we ended up getting a self-guided tour of Bath with all the big sights. We wore poor little Ethan out, walking at least four miles that morning (and had to hear his whining as a result). 

Check out this hill:

Cool bookstore:

Long curved strand of townhouses, not to be confused with the Royal Crescent:

Ah, we found the real Royal Crescent (is up on a hill, can see from all over town and the apartment we are staying at):

The Circus (circle of rounded buildings around a roundabout):

Bath Abbey (we didn't end up going inside because we made the mistake of trying to go on a Sunday):

Then we met up with my Welsh friend, Hedd, and his girlfriend Lowri. I met him on a bus in Australia approximately 10yrs. ago. Hailey had fallen asleep (and we didn't want to have to wake her up to take her out of the stroller) so we went to lunch first at this place near the Roman Baths. It was fun to share lunch and a drink and hang out with a friend and meet his girlfriend (they met when they were both in their friends' wedding party about a year ago-how cute). We are going to visit them in Port Talbot, Wales and stay at Hedd's house so it will be fun to see them again. (They just happened to also be in Bath at the same time--they came to Bristol to see a comedian Saturday night). 

Then we ventured to the Roman Baths, which were very cool:

Avove the main Roman Bath (with Bath Abbey in the background). Ethan is obsessed with the commentary device:

Looking down on the side hot spring:

Celtic depiction of one of their temples:

Ethan wanted to show "selfie stick girl" that he had a cool gadget as well. And posed to take a photo with her:

Chris and the kids found the bridge that we were looking for earlier (by then it was raining though and we no longer wanted to do a boat trip). We thought the hop on hop off sightseeing bus would be fun instead but it was expensive and we had already stumbled upon a lot of the sights.

I got to have 1.5hrs to power shop by myself while Chris and the kids went back to take a nap. (Although Hailey refused to have another nap and screamed instead-she is all messed up after going to bed really late last night and then having a 2hr. Morning nap).

I got this shirt for Ethan which I knew he would really like. He is obsessed with sea gulls and it was funny because one had stolen Hailey's whole sandwich weeks ago and we also had a library book about sea gulls and ice cream.

I didn't really have much time but man, everyone was right-this city has amazing shopping! Lowri had said she came here on several occasions for girls shopping trips.

Sunday we got coffee at Cafe Nero and did more wandering and finally found the vintage market (which was nothing special). 

Pulteney Bridge:

Ha, a cafe of this name seemed a little odd to us in England. However, it was packed with university students:

No time but this looked fun:

Then we took a bus to Prior Park Landscape Garden and got to use our National Trust passes:

Wow, look at that (with Bath city in background):

Only 3 other bridges of this kind in the world:

Bird calls, not to be confused with cat calls. :) (see middle bird name) Chris and I got a good laugh:

Then I carried Hailey in the ergo for the 1.3mi. walk back to the apartment so Ethan could ride in the stroller. She fell asleep the last 10min. Of course and then would not make the transfer and that was all she had for a nap that day. I finally gave up and took her with me to the Assembly Rooms and Fashion Museum quickly:

Ballroom (which is rented out for events):

The fashion museum had clothing dating back to the early 1700's and was very interesting!

We tried two nights in a row to go to the Boathouse Restaurant but (after walking there three times in two days discovered) Saturday it was closed for a private event and Sunday it was closed. Ha, this weekend was full of situations like these but it is all part of traveling. Eating bagels in the car is fine too. :)