Friday 1 December 2023

Our Second Day In Bath,

we must have disturbed the pigeons, 


as we left the hotel, 

and made our way to the market stalls, 

we were early, 

so not many people about,
 
first stop of the day,

breakfast starting with a coffee,

or tea,

for all of us,

we went for,

a full English breakfast,

all set, 

eyes down and tuck in,

meal finished, 

it was time to wrap up warm, the café was called Café au Lait, the bill came to £74.00 including service,

and here it is,

and then we walked past Diana's café!

something you do not see very often, a bookbinders,

well,

the girls just had to!

we made our way through one of the many pedestrian precincts,

we had forgotten our Christmas hats,

an old GPO box put to good use, it houses a defibrillator, and water by the side of it,

this one as a greenhouse,

the aroma from this shop even though we had just eaten was just so nice,

so a purchase was made,

before a pose,

with a huge meringue,

in the street one more Citroen van converted to sell food or drink,

a quick pose, 

by the tree,

and we were inside queuing, 

for our tickets to enter the Roman Baths

with its domed ceiling,

into the covered area, 

looking down onto the first bath,

and the outside walk way, 

of course in the day, 

all of this would have been covered,

by a high vaulted ceiling,

there were a few here in period dress,

well I just had to!

on the other side of the wall the market,

time for a few poses,

on the pathway,

that goes around the big pool,

well I had too!

I have to say the water does not look that inviting,

we are on the other side of the arch,

that we saw yesterday, 

it is amazing to think that here in the UK we are over a thermal vent, still a great way to start the next disaster movie, as magna goes up through the vent to swamp Bath, at the same time the extinct volcano that Edinburgh sits on springs into life!

it might look misty, but that is a mist made by cooling air,

we have come down a level,

into rooms where projectors show what the rooms were used for in the day,

one showing by the side of Steve,

as we continued our tour, 

during excavations skeletons were found,

a scene is played out,

by stones that were found on site,

in this section,

you can look down on the remains of one part of the baths,

we continued along the walkways,

admiring items showcased on the way,

a quick pose, 

before the next attraction,

a chance to buy souvenirs, 

before seeing where the hot water comes from the ground in this area,

and then disappears in this tunnel,

we passed the end of the big pool,

into this area, 

where bathers readied themselves for a dip,

Steve and Kai in the distance,

at the far end of the pool,

time for a pose,

or two,

or three!

then the girls turn,

the hot stream,

and where it enters the pool,

condensation rising,

as Steve looks on,

over the clear walkway,

to perhaps the highlight of the tour, the time to try the medicinal waters, well I have drunk beer that tasted worse!

outside into the market,

we started looking at the stalls,

Kai and Diana,

looking at,

Santa's little helpers,

who were all dressed up and ready for the event,

they were happy to pose,

with admiring onlookers,

back to the stalls,

cheese, 

and burgers always a favourite,

this one Diana's,

and who can resist a donut?

with its soldier guard,

time for another pose,

and then back to the stalls, 

this one very bright,

with its tea candle glass globes,

and of course glass animals,

I always used to love watching the glass animal man make these in the entrance to the Brighton Aquarium when I was a kid,

we made our way along the alleyways,

and past clothes stalls,

more door decorations,

these all made of pine branches,

this stall Lunar Glass

showcasing some of its products,


with its Christmas display, 

along with Jacks of Bath

and here is a bit of fun, 

for the man who has everything, 


and they make bow ones too for formal occasions!

more illuminated lamps,

but these ones electrically powered,

glass vivarium's here too,

into the narrow passageways,

we made our way back to,

Yum Yum Thai,

to book a table for our evening meal,

then next door, for a ice cream for Kai,

and coffees for Diana, Steve and myself,

great fun, well not for Santa!

outside of a number of shops,

like this one,

the railings looked like they were made from cast iron,

they were certainly of an age,

into and out of a arcade, 

back into the street,

the outside of this shop in pastel shades looked so nice,

we continued walking,

when I spotted these highly coloured shirts, 

but at £129.00 I decided against it, 

as it was getting dark this stall was so bright, 

it was the Artifactually stall,

selling hand blown Christmas glass ornaments, as well as items for other occasions,

all exquisitely made by hand, amazing, 

what a wonderful show of goods,

we then made our way to the Circus, no not the one with lions, tigers and clowns, 

this one, the Circus is a historic ring of large townhouses in the city of Bath, Somerset, forming a circle with three entrances, designed by architect John Wood, the Elder, it was built between 1754 and 1769, and is regarded as a pre-eminent example of Georgian architecture,

a not very good panorama of The Circus,

 a few poses in The Circus,

one more,

the last one, 

we then walked to The Royal Crescent,

a sweeping semi-circle of terraced, honey-hued houses, the Royal Crescent is a stunning example of Georgian architecture, 

the Royal Crescent is a row of 30 terraced houses laid out in a sweeping crescent in the city of Bath, 

it was designed by the architect John Wood, the Younger, and built between 1767 and 1774, it is among the greatest examples of Georgian architecture to be found in the United Kingdom,

in the centre of the crescent, a Christmas tree, 

just one, 

or two,

OK three, 

Steve and Kai,
Diana and myself,

we started back to town, 

past the now illuminated crazy golf,

with its fountain glowing,

and into town,

past the restaurant opposite, 

our hotel, 


Kai ordered our food in Thai, so many I will not name, because I do not have a clue as to what they are called, but these few I know, sesame seed prawns on toast,

crispy pork, 

spare ribs,

and satay, 

from here on in, 

I do not know what is what,

but we all tucked in,

and what a feast it was,

dish after dish, 

by the time we finished we were full to bursting, the bill came to £180.00 including service, we made a move back to our hotel where we were soon off to to bed, if you would like to see day 3 of our stay in Bath and the short video I made of the Pulteney weir and a few moving Christmas displays in a shop window please click the ‘Older Posts’ button at the bottom right of the page.


No comments: