Going to Bath

I know that I promised a Roman Wall in my next post, but life has a funny way of interfering with one's plans, so instead I'm giving you all a Roman bath instead. That's right folks, today I had the pleasure of visiting the ancient city of Bath. As you all recall, a long time ago in in a country not, that far far away, the Roman Empire invaded and conquered England. The Roman's were very much into bathing, and when they found a hot spring, this happened...

For the Romans the baths combined medicine, relaxation, exercise, and religion all into one convenient place. The Bath itself was dedicated to the goddess Minerva (Greek: Athena) and archeologists have even located the head of the statue that was worshiped at this site.

(Interesting note, that statue in question would have only been seen by the priests at the temple/bath, common citizens were not allowed). The baths themselves were huge. Hot baths, cold baths, and everything in between were a part of the Roman bathing experience, and while a large portion of the complex has been restored (the statues below for example), much of it is original.

The above picture actually comes from a tombstone. After the fall of the empire, the tombstone was used to help build the wall that protected the city. Once England stopped being invaded, walls like this became rather unnecessary so the tombstone was shipped to the museum.

 The elements of the above picture formed the top of the entrance to the Roman baths. They are arranged as they would have been when the baths were in operation.

 (If you look closely, you can see the steam coming out of the spring).

In the above picture, the brown wall indicates how, in the middle ages, the monks raised the water level when they used the baths to treat sick villagers. The handles were added when the baths were used by upper-class British citizens during the 18th and 19th century.

As a testament to Roman architecture, this drainage system still works. I'm not kidding, this drain has been transporting water from the spring to the nearby river since the time of the Romans.

Of course, there's more to Bath than just the bath, so afterwards everyone headed over to the fashion museum. As you all know, I've never been a big fan of fashion, but this museum... okay I still am incredibly bored with fashion and this museum didn't change my mind. That being said, I do think that I look rather dapper in a suit and top hat...

Hello Governor!

After that was a visit to the Jane Austin house. Now I'm not the biggest Jane Austin fan, so I wasn't exactly sure what I was going to think about this. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed Pride  and Prejudice just fine, but I'm not exactly gonna go gaga over Austin. That being said, I know that many of my friends and family adore Miss Austin so I figured I should probably check. Now the house isn't the actual house that she stayed in (a dentist has his office there now), but all of the houses on the street apparently have the same design so its not that big of a deal.

Moving  on, we next visited an Abbey that dates back to Norman Times. It was partially destroyed during the Reformation (Henry VIII you're a jerk. An effective ruler and military commander, but a jerk), but it was restored to towards the end of the 17th century. Anyway, words can't describe the beauty and majesty of this place, so here are some pictures...

 During the Renaissance through the 18th century, there was fear that one's dead body would be dug up and used for medical research. As a result, many people requested to be buried in the actual church itself, hence the gravestones above.

Like I said the Abbey was gorgeous. In fact that whole city was gorgeous and it was sunny, which is something that I've missed since I've gotten here (the jokes that people make about England being dreary are, in fact, true). That's all for now, but I'll have more pictures from Bath coming up in a day or two. Enjoy!