Stefano and I returned from the UK yesterday. Let me tell ya, it was quite a shock, going from temperatures of 15° (UK) to 40° (Italy)…Celsius, of course! In fact, as soon as we descended from the plane and met our first blast of horrendous heat at the airport in Pisa, I turned to Stefano and said: “Holy cats, let’s get back on the next flight to the UK!” I was joking, of course…or was I? 😉
Well, as tempted as we were, we decided against returning to the UK, which means we are back home in HOT Florence now. Pant, pant. But seriously, all joshing aside, it’s good to be home again…
But ok, enough whining about the heat…Here are a few of the photos I took in the city of Bath, which was the first stop on our itinerary. We spent two days there…Of course, all I could think was how it must have looked when Jane Austen lived there…Ahhh, dear, beloved Jane…sigh…
The first photo (top left) shows a view of the river Avon and a peek of the Pulteney Bridge (on the left), which is Bath’s “Ponte Vecchio,” that is, it is one of only FOUR bridges lined with shops in the entire world. And that was something I didn’t know…Please notice the sign “No Diving.” Uhm…
As you can see in photo number two (top right), my Myeloma Buddy, whom Stefano named Honey, came with us. She always does, incidentally. And she will be featured in quite a few of the photos I plan to put on the blog in the next few days. This one shows her at the Royal Crescent, which is a simply stunning bit of Bath architecture, …thirty houses built in the late 18th century in the form of a crescent, as the name suggests…
Photo three. We went to the Roman Baths and yes, I was quite overwhelmed. I had no idea they’d be so interesting. And well preserved. As you can see, they are below street level (notice the cathedral in the background). In the afternoon, we had cream tea in the Pump Room. The food wasn’t comparable to what we had years ago at Fortnum & Mason in London, but we enjoyed the experience and our surroundings.
And, in spite of Lorna’s warning, I did taste Bath’s spa water in the Pump Room. As I recall, it contains more than 40 minerals, which definitely gave it a strong, odd (awful?) flavour…it was also quite hot, of course…but I managed to drink my entire glass, whereas Stefano only managed to stomach a quick sip…hah. I win. 😉
Photo number four shows a partial view of The Circus…again, this is a very well-known, lovely spot in Bath–a perfect circle of townhouses built in the 18th century. I went around and took photos of many below-street-level gardens and patios. Splendid…
Photo number five…well, just a funky photo showing a sign post…nothing more…
And these photos take care only of our first TWO days in the UK! 😉 No worries, I won’t post photos from my ENTIRE trip (I took hundreds, so that would be impossible anyway), just a few highlights. 🙂
Great pics Margaret, and I don’t blame you about the heat. Toronto seems to be either too hot or too cold. It can’t make up it’s mind.
Again, welcome home. Your bloggers and fans, of which you have many around the world, are happy to “hear” from you again.
HannaO (aka FannaO)
Great photos, Margaret! I know Bath very well as I used to live in Bristol. Lovely place…. Slightly jealous of the heat in Italy, though 40 is a bit high!
Delightful photos and esp. liked seeing the Myeloma buddy along! Had no idea Bath was so charming, so large, so interesting… must put it on the Bucket List!
Hey Honey, hope you enjoyed the trip back to the land of your birth! 😀