Day 19: Bath-time!

2/3 I went to bed at 11pm last night and woke up at 8:15am. It was glorious. I needed some alone time and some good solid rest. I readied myself for the day and hit the breakfast room ready at 9am. I decided that they had very interesting methods of cooking their food, but overall it was still good, just different.

We started the second half of our walking tour with the beautiful Abbey. It was really pretty and interesting both outside and in. there was an American flag mounted on one pillar, alongside several old British flags, that was given to Britain after a world war as a sign of friendship. There were also hundreds of grave markers on the floor and walls of the church from several centuries ago. The stained glass was also something breathtaking. The front window had over 50 scenes from the life of Jesus and it was floor to ceiling of the huge arched room. The church was definitely something to ponder and we spent over an hour there quietly wandering around its interior.

After this the abbey we finished our tour with the Assembly rooms and the Guildhall, which were interesting, but from a later time frame and less memorable. Lunch then consisted of two fresh loaves of bread, cheese taking from breakfast, and a jar of tomato sauce with spices. We split it between six of us (Lizzy and Laura spent most of Bath with us) and it only cost us 50 pence apiece, roughly 75 cents. To enjoy this meal we wandered down to the Avon River (apparently being watched by the Wardwell family all the while from their restaurant on the bridge) and searched out a place to enjoy our food. In this search we discovered a maze (one of those hedge mazes, only without the hedges). Immediately we all fell into line on the stone path and raced for the inside. Eventually everyone but two of us were on the same path. I followed close behind David until at the last moment I veered another direction feeling quite confident of myself. Soon after the others were behind me, and David realizing his error jumped the path (which Katie continued to follow, giving her second place) and cheated. After much intense competition I arrived king of the hill in the middle of the garden with Katie as second. The Wardwell’s saw the whole event, and were voting who they thought would win.

After lunch Laura and Lizzy headed to a museum, and the rest of us went for a leisurely stroll along the river. We then turned and looked for a hilly direction and proceeded out of the main town into the quaint “suburb” that mounted a hill. We found our way to the top, after stopping for directions, and after our long hike made it to the top of a grassy knoll, being sure to keep our backs towards the city. Once we reached the very top we counted to three and simultaneously turned to breath in a delightful panorama of Bath. It was a spectacular view, quite worth the trek. It was sunny, unlike snowy Monday, and the whole city was illuminated.

Another random funny story: while we were at the top of the knoll we encountered a water trough glazed over with ice. Katie grabbed a chunk of the ice sheet and turned to three Midwesterners, observing our perplexed expressions. She simply asked, “what have you never done this before?!” and then walked away towards a fence. We watched in astonishment, racking our minds for a possible explanation of what this southern girl was doing with an ice block. Upon nearing the fence Katie dramatically raised the ice block…before letting it smash down upon a rock. She turned towards us with a pleased smile and was met with doubled over laughter. For some reason we were all three convinced that she was going to show us something innovative, that we somehow hadn’t ever seen. Then we realized that she just wanted to see the ice shatter. Oh, Southerners.