The Weekend at Bath

So from Friday to Sunday, I was in Bath! And it was fantastic.

There were four of us traveling together--Erin and Lorna, and Erin's friend visiting from Canada, whose name is also Kate. We were then referred to as 'Kate Squared' for ease of getting yelled at when we wandered off. We all took the train down, which took about four hours, and which Erin and I used to work on our dissertations, so that we didn't feel like total slackers on our mini-vacation.

We arrived in the afternoon on Friday, but managed to see quite a lot despite the train being delayed. We started at the Assembly Rooms, which I got really excited about because my favorite adaptation of Persuasion was filmed there, and I recognized all the rooms they used. Also it was utterly gorgeous. Why don't we live like this anymore? Georgian architecture is amazing. It's a nice balance of decorative flourishes and more austere color schemes. Plus, you know, massive crystal chandeliers.

Also located in the basement of the Assembly Rooms is a fashion museum, which was completely random, but how could we resist? Lorna and I spent a lot of time freaking out at awesome Edwardian and Victorian dresses on display, as well as some of the more modern designer clothing. There was also a section were you could try on corsets and hoopskirts, so we abruptly regressed to our five-year-old selves and tried them on. Older English ladies laughed at us, and it was awesome. We had lunch/afternoon tea in the adjacent cafe that still displayed all of the glorious Georgian fanciness, so we felt quite civilized as we had scones and cucumber sandwiches.

After that we took a walk along the Circle, taking random pictures of painted lions that are all over the place, and which are apparently a public art project being done for charity, and then wandered over to the Royal Crescent, where a lovely older man and his wife took our pictures. We also oohed and aahed at the selection of rather expensive cars that were parked along the road, because the Crescent remains all private residences, and therefore belong to extremely wealthy people. There may have been a lot of fantasizing about being absurdly rich on our parts.

On Saturday, we took a bus trip out to Stonehenge. It was pouring rain, so it was kind of cold and miserable, but to be fair we only were there for an hour, so although I couldn't feel my feet by the end, it was still worth going. The stones are indeed massive, and pretty cool to see in the flesh/stone. They don't let you get up close any more, obviously, but the view was still good and you can walk all the way around it.

We got back to Bath in time for lunch, and then we ventured into the Roman Baths, and since I was traveling with three Classics scholars, they all geeked out. It was a really fascinating thing to see, though. I came in knowing absolutely nothing about them, so it was fascinating to learn how they were first built and how they came to be covered over time and then rediscovered in the 19th century. In a way, actually, they managed to appeal to my own scholarly interests, as the way it's seen now shows both the original baths and the architecture the Victorians built over it to display them. It was fun times!

We then had dinner in the Pump Room, which was our one big indulgence for a meal, but definitely worth it. Again, beautiful Georgian design, lit with chandeliers, and live piano as background music. (Incidentally, the pianist seemed to be working through my entire high school repertoire, so if I'm ever desperate for a job, I totally want to do that.) Anyway, we all shared a bottle of Prosecco, I had the most delicious sea bass ever, and we generally had a very classy and very fun time pretending to be a little less bourgeois than we are.

Then finally on Sunday, we took a walk down to where Jane Austen used to live, and then wandered around her neighborhood. The weather was far nicer than the day before, so we were able to be leisurely. We also stumbled upon an old abandoned church that was tiny and beautiful with an old graveyard full of various people who we'd never heard of, but apparently were important enough to merit little signs explaining who they were. The only people I recognized were two women who had been friends with Hannah More. I'm not really a fan of More, but I've at least read her. In any case, it was very picturesque and a fun unexpected place to walk around in.

Then we dropped other-Kate off at the train station, because she had to go to London for her flight back to Canada, and Lorna and Erin and I did some shopping around before heading back. All in all, it was an extremely successful trip! Definitely a well-deserved break from work, and a lovely way of spending a weekend.