Some weekend trips are included in the IFSA program. This past weekend we went to Bath, England. We left at 7am to get into Central and Notting Hill where the IFSA office is. Whew. Elizabeth and I enjoyed a tasty breakfast at McDonald's before boarding the bus. We should have known it was going to be a long day when I called Christine as we were boarding at 8am and she wasn't here yet. My phone call woke her up so she wasn't able to go with us. Sad times.
We got on the coach bus and of course I fell asleep within minutes. Love that about traveling. :) It was about a two and a half hour ride to get to Bath. When we arrived our driver parked in the wrong space so we all unloaded only to find our all of us had to get back on the bus.
We went on a walking tour of the city. It was a really gorgeous city, as every European city is (at least I feel like that!). Below is some pictures and descriptions of the buildings.
Royal Crescent
It was finished in 1775 by architect, John Wood. Some families own a single "house" and the other rooms are rented out as a luxury hotel.
Roundabout in the town center
It's hard to see from the photograph, but each of the three columns have a different detail. The designer was somewhat obsessed with the number three. There were three entrances to this roundabout, three levels to the surrounding buildings and each of the three pillars looked differently.
This building was used for social gathering hundreds of years ago. The blue room was used for dances and the room on the bottom was for cards. People would gather every evening dressed in their finest clothes to socialize and falunt their fine wardrobes.
Part of the River Avon that runs through the city
Bridge over River Avon
A park that's just down the street from the River Avon. You have to pay to get into the park as it is a "royal" park.
Street in Bath
Jane Austen Museum
We didn't actually go inside because we didn't have time. We did sneak by for a photo though. Classic.
Bath Abbey
After our walking tour, we had a thirty minute break for lunch before reconvening at the Roman Baths for our tour. I ate "Cornwall Pastries" which was delicious. I had a chicken pot pie-ish croissant for lunch. We were delayed going into the Roman Baths for about twenty minutes because a group of students who we collectively refer to as "The Bros" were late. Shocker time. They are a group of several dudes and one girl who are just constantly drunk, loud and fratty. It's mildly annoying, but we enjoying referring to them as "The Bros". Elizabeth, Christine and I named them this during our initial walking tour of London during IFSAorientation in the first few days of studying abroad. Anyway, they were late again today and held up the entire group.
Bath is the only city in Britain that has a natural hot spring. It was originally treated as a shrine for the Celts and was dedicated to the goddess of Sulis. After the Romans invaded it was called "Aquae Sulis," quite literally, Waters of Sulis. Now, it's a World Heritage site and attracts over three million of visitors annually. It was pretty sweet to see the heat literally rising from the spring.
Our "tickets" to get into the Roman Baths
It was really pretty, too.
See the steam?
After exploring the Roman Bath museum and seeing the Baths, we went to the Pump Room to try some of the water from the bath. It tasted of warm pennies. Not really something I would want an entire glass of, if you know what I mean. It was still cool to get to actually try the water. It had been purified so it wasn't like drinking straight out of this green "pond" but it was still Roman Bath water.
After the tour, we had a little more free time. Elizabeth and I walked around and did some browsing in the local shops. When it was time to leave, we got another late start thanks to The Bros. Oh well. Life goes on. The commute home was another four hours all the way to Harrow. We spent eight hours commuting to Bath and only explored the city for four. I guess you only study abroad once right, so you gotta do it all anyway?
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