Bath was wonderful in every way

As promised, I'm jumping back in time, and picking up one of the skipped stones, to give you a taste of our first big day (not counting the Stonehenge/Salisbury Plain day) in the heart of Bath. I've been using the stone metaphor because it seems as if Bath is all about stone, going back to the Roman times--and they were the first ones to put that beautiful Bath limestone to such good use. In fact, I keep seeing the stone theme recurring in future adventures--which are already in the past for us.

(Don't think too hard about what I just said. It hurts my brain, and I'm the one who really should be able to keep track of this time jumping.)

And here are examples of the Bath limestone, of which most of Bath is built. We've probably all seen most of these iconic images before (especially if we watched "Bridgerton" last year), but it was impossible to not take some pics of our saw own anyway.

Thanks to King Henry VIII, this is a non-denominational community church (!), although it seems to hew pretty closely to the Catholic/Church of England traditions. A special aspect of its exterior can be seen here if you enlarge the image. Those are ladders flanking the front, and there are angels climbing them to get to heaven (a couple of them actually seem to be crawling down the ladder--apparently having fallen from grace).

Interior of the Abbey

One of the three townhouse units of the Circus. There were two noted architects in Bath, John Wood the Elder and John Wood the Younger. When Sr. died, Jr. took over and finished these classically laid out developments. The Circus, like the Abbey, is built from that beautiful Bath limestone.

And the Royal Crescent, another project of the Woods. You've most likely seen this in Jane Austen films or some other Georgian romance story. That stone is so beautiful--it just glows. That expanse of lawn, by the way, is only for the use of residents and hotel guests. There is another section for the rest of us, beyond that row of flowers. At least the barrier is pretty.

And we wandered among and gaped at the houses built throughout that same area, finding this little universallyinteresting place:

Yes, Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein while living in Bath. Jane Austen wasn't the only famous author to live there.

Our goal on this roaming afternoon was a pub by the name of the Star Inn. We found it! And it was everything we had read about: nothing fancy, no video games, no TVs, just a quiet place (that afternoon, at least) where the locals are as apt to be sitting in a corner reading as carrying on a conversation with friends and strangers alike.

This pub sells Abbey ales, appropriately enough.

As I recall (gads, this was already over a week ago!), I got the Bellringer, because the Chorister wasn't available. Cindy got something else, but I can't remember what it was:

She seemed to be enjoying it.

We sat down in one of the tiny rooms where another couple around our age were having their own conversation. But we were all soon talking. A good time was had by all.

We got back to our "home" in time to set up our load of laundry for washing overnight so we could hang it out in the morning well before the time we needed to leave for the next exciting adventure: the Mayor of Bath's Tour, a free walking tour throughout the city, which took us to many of the places we'd already seen, but embellished with great local stories, both historical and more contemporary. These free tours are led by residents who volunteer their time and knowledge--and personal stories too. A really wonderful experience!

After that, lunch at one of the many restaurants crowded into downtown Bath, then a surprise aria on the plaza in front of the Roman baths:

This singer is a bona fide opera singer whose name I unfortunately neglected to record anywhere after looking her up. Sadly, she ends up having to supplement her income by busking in Bath (that phrase almost makes it sound romantic...).

From there we wandered over to the Parade Gardens where we encountered some interesting sights:

It was difficult to discern whether Prince Bladud was a real person or some mythical Bath hero. His life was certainly interesting (cast out by his father the king because he had leprosy, herded swine to stay alive, noticed that the swine wallowing in the Bath mud had beautiful skin so he wallowed with them, was cured and re-accepted into the court, became king and founded Bath, and fathered King Lear). The story is just a bit fantastic.

The bandstand in this garden was wonderfully special:

Be sure to expand and read this plaque. It's a perfect demonstration of true community-based public art from beginning to finish. Here are some of the views of this project:

This finial is especially cool. The clefs were forged by school children from throughout Bath.

And of course the Parade Gardens are the place where everyone takes their iconic photos of the famous Pulteney Weir on the River Avon. So we had to take our own as well.

The following actually took place on the afternoon before our stroll to the Star Inn. We walked by Abbey Square and happened on this performer. This will have special significance for members and audience of the Chorale's Fall 2022 concert:

So there's one last big chunk of Bath that I haven't yet addressed, the Roman Baths and related topics, but that will come soon. My next chapter will likely be about our first full day in Amsterdam, which we both loved.