Romantic Bath

     Here comes another month with me barely noticing it. February is such a short month; very hectic but fun filled that I can't seem to move on yet. Even the weather is tagging along with me, blowing its cold snowy wind instead of welcoming the sun for its return. Catching up from where I left off, one of the many things me and hubby did last month was travelling to another amazing place which both of us has never been before. Nope, we didn't go abroad to celebrate Valentine's Day, but instead, we went to Bath, about an hour and a half drive away, making it very ideal for a short break. I tried avoiding seaside destinations during this cold season or else I'll just dribble looking at the water and I can't even go in it.
     It was about half past 8 in the morning when we reached Bath, surprisingly not lost this time. The hotel owner definitely didn't expect us when we knocked the door that early, but we fled straight after we left our luggage in the reception to make the most of the day.

According to legend, there was a prince who caught leprosy and sent away from the local court. He lived by the river and forced to look after pigs. The pigs also had a skin disease but after they soaked themselves in hot mud, they were cured. The prince one day followed their example and miraculously, his skin was cured. Later he became king and founded the city of Bath.

This prince is said to be the father of King Lear, one of Shakespeare's beloved characters.
  

     Bath is located in South West England and like London, this is one of the most visited tourist destinations in the country. There are many museums around the city, like the Fashion Museum, The Jane Austen Centre (The English novelist who wrote Pride & Prejudice), and the Roman Baths & Museum, just to name a few. Everything in this place has kept its form that no wonder the entire City of Bath was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its well maintained architectural history.

      So here I am standing in the middle of the Abbey Churchyard, a bit bloated after that 'healthy' Mcdonalds breakfast that day. Behind me is the Bath Abbey, the entrance to the Roman Baths and the Pump Room. Just outside the Pump Room is the meeting spot for the free walking tour. I honestly don't know how far we would walk, but I made sure I dressed comfortably to survive the 2-hour tour.

     This pathway is an example of those many cobbled streets that has been preserved after so many centuries. Imagine we are walking on the same ground as those ancient Romans who used to dominate this city

The Royal Cresecent


Above are few of the many buildings around The Circus. It is a round space surrounded by town houses, one of the many key reasons why Bath got its World Heritage title.

     Returning back from the walking tour, the Abbey Churchyard is now filled with performers, spectators and tourists from all over the world.

     When I thought it's gonna be dry and sunny the whole day, it started raining right after we departed from our walking tour group and ended up to this pub, Coeur de Lion, dubbed to be the smallest pub in Bath. Ironically, of all the many pubs that can be found in the area, we ended up to the smallest one. 

     We don't know exactly where we are and while trying to find our way back to the hotel, we see ourselves returning back to the same place where the tour guide took us. The Pulteney Bridge, as I see being featured a lot in the television, is far more astonishing than I expected. For those lovers of Les Miserables (2013) movie, this is the exact same scene where Javert falls into the 'Seine'. I didn't knew until a friend told me, never seen the movie myself. 

     I'm glad we tried the walking tour before going for the bus ones. Unlike sitting on the double decker bus, I enjoyed the walking tour better because I interacted with the whole group, go up close to the buildings/attraction sites, walk in historical alleyways which the bus can never access, and lastly, it's free! Me and hubby are a bit skint that time, and I couldn't think any better way to see the whole city that that. Both tours cover pretty much the same thing anyway. Before this gets any longer, I'd love to end this post with this video I found from the UNESCO site. I'll be sharing more about my Bath experience in my future posts.