Post by Kim on Dec 1, 2001 15:01:53 GMT -5
Monday, 26 November
Bath, England
I could sit here all night and never be able to adequately paint for you the glories of this town. Honestly. It is a place of grace, proportion and style.
Nearly everything in the present town was built in the 1770's or later (although the town itself dates back to the 600's). It is nearly all of the 'Georgian' style, all built with 'bath stone' a beautiful honey/rose colored stone and it all seems to have been 'planned' to go together. The weather today was wonderful, crisp with a beautiful blue sky.
The main sights here are the Roman Baths (for which the town became famous) and the Abbey. But those are just the
two biggest draws, there is so much more! I got an early start of it and got some hopefully terrific photos of the abbey in the morning sun. It has a fan vaulted ceiling inside which will rival any you could find I think. The baths, which are the original 830 AD Roman built baths are a marvel even today.
The entire town rests on top of what was once the old Roman town so is 20' higher than it was at that time. Much evidence to been seen everywhere of that. All of the original Roman built walls remain, but you can't see all of them, but
quite a bit of it nevertheless. The Saxons and Normans built on top of the old structures. The river Avon flows through town and there are some fabulous bridges to be seen, the old ones with shops lining the sides of the actual bridge!
But the individual sights and places here, of which there are many, are not the real draw I don't think. It is the overall city, the entire package. The Royal Crescent, the Circus, the squares....all are in harmony each with the other and it presents such a visually stunning picture. I expect to see Mr. Darcy coming around every corner.....Jane Austin/Pride and Prejudice for those of you not sure who I meant there. In fact, she indeed lived here for a time, and today I walked the 'famous' gravel walk mentioned so often in Persuasion, among other books of hers. History lives in this town indeed!
Tomorrow I have booked a tour to go to Stonehenge, Avebury, the huge chalk drawings and a couple of small Cotswold towns. Places that really need a car to get to, and cheaper and easier to take a tour than rent a car and try to find them on my own. Not a huge bus tour though, a 'minivan' tour with no more than 15 people.
I have heard horror stories about 1) the crowds of tourists, 2) the horrid English weather this time of year, 3) the god awful English food. Thankfully I have found none of that to be true. The leaves here are still brilliant yellow and rust as you will see when my pics are done and the weather could not be much better. All is well here in my crazy little nomad world! <br>
ging
Bath, England
I could sit here all night and never be able to adequately paint for you the glories of this town. Honestly. It is a place of grace, proportion and style.
Nearly everything in the present town was built in the 1770's or later (although the town itself dates back to the 600's). It is nearly all of the 'Georgian' style, all built with 'bath stone' a beautiful honey/rose colored stone and it all seems to have been 'planned' to go together. The weather today was wonderful, crisp with a beautiful blue sky.
The main sights here are the Roman Baths (for which the town became famous) and the Abbey. But those are just the
two biggest draws, there is so much more! I got an early start of it and got some hopefully terrific photos of the abbey in the morning sun. It has a fan vaulted ceiling inside which will rival any you could find I think. The baths, which are the original 830 AD Roman built baths are a marvel even today.
The entire town rests on top of what was once the old Roman town so is 20' higher than it was at that time. Much evidence to been seen everywhere of that. All of the original Roman built walls remain, but you can't see all of them, but
quite a bit of it nevertheless. The Saxons and Normans built on top of the old structures. The river Avon flows through town and there are some fabulous bridges to be seen, the old ones with shops lining the sides of the actual bridge!
But the individual sights and places here, of which there are many, are not the real draw I don't think. It is the overall city, the entire package. The Royal Crescent, the Circus, the squares....all are in harmony each with the other and it presents such a visually stunning picture. I expect to see Mr. Darcy coming around every corner.....Jane Austin/Pride and Prejudice for those of you not sure who I meant there. In fact, she indeed lived here for a time, and today I walked the 'famous' gravel walk mentioned so often in Persuasion, among other books of hers. History lives in this town indeed!
Tomorrow I have booked a tour to go to Stonehenge, Avebury, the huge chalk drawings and a couple of small Cotswold towns. Places that really need a car to get to, and cheaper and easier to take a tour than rent a car and try to find them on my own. Not a huge bus tour though, a 'minivan' tour with no more than 15 people.
I have heard horror stories about 1) the crowds of tourists, 2) the horrid English weather this time of year, 3) the god awful English food. Thankfully I have found none of that to be true. The leaves here are still brilliant yellow and rust as you will see when my pics are done and the weather could not be much better. All is well here in my crazy little nomad world! <br>
ging