Day Three: Bath and Bristol and In Between!

It was so nice to sleep in this morning and officially recover from our jet lag. We ate breakfast here at the Bed and Breakfast and then headed into Bath. The city center is about a 15 minute walk from where we are staying, so it's very convenient. The streets were very crowded with shoppers, as the weather was incredible. It was in the low 80s and I think it had all of the Brits in a tizzy. So, clearly, everyone was out trying to enjoy it while they could.

We did a lot of walking, and wound up at the Jane Austen Center. We didn't actually take the tour of their building, but we did spend considerable time in their gift shop! Then just around the corner by a block or so was the Royal Crescent. This was a wide residential area of houses that are placed one next to the other at a curve, thereby forming a crescent. In front of the houses was a large green, where Emily took the opportunity to make some friends.

Aunt Sandi, Emily, and Mom went through Number 1 Crescent Circle- the first home on the crescent that has been converted into a museum to showcase life during the Georgian era. I opted out and sat on the lawn of a huge park just across the way. I enjoyed getting to rest my feet and take in the local culture. I guess people love soccer and cigarettes on warm days!


^ The Royal Crescent!


^ The ladies have an admirer ;)


^ The Roman Baths

Next, we headed back towards the main part of town, but stopped at a nice French restaurant on our way. After we had sufficiently refueled, we continued towards the Baths themselves. We had a look inside the Pump Room, then Emily and I left Mom and Sandi behind so that we could get ready for the rest of our night.

We left the Bath train station for Bristol, which was only a 15 minute trip. There, we met up with Matt who is our neighbor's younger brother. He was so kind as to arrange a whole evening "on the town." First, he showed us all of the main parts of Bristol, including many different churches. We also got to see where Beth, our neighbor, lived and went to school. It was fascinating. Bristol is definitely a larger city than Bath, and moves at a fast pace. Matt then took us to a few pubs with some of his friends. They were all so sweet to let us tag along, and they made us feel really at home. They treated us to some local brews before we headed back for Bath by train for the night.

-Alicia