After London, we spent three nights in Bath – pronounced like ah as in father.  Our time there was a breath of fresh air after the crowds and size of London.  Also, the morning we left London (8/5/23) was TOUGH for a number of reasons:  

• We’d spent most of the day before out and had saved our packing until the evening before
• I had done a little more laundry after we got back and it all wasn’t dry because the dryer there did not work well.  
• One of our kids finished packing early and was especially out of sorts and picking fights with almost everyone else.  
• We had waited to mail the dress clothes we’d brought for the Queen Mary and had to get to the post office amidst everything else, and 
• It was raining, AGAIN.

Our LEARNS from that Morning:

• 1. If we’ve been in a place for several days, pack up the day before and go out only after everyone is packed. 
• 2. Talk about what’s coming next so those who get anxious about the unexpected will know what’s coming, including showing them a picture or two of where we’re going next. 
• 3. Scott and I need to pack early and quickly so one of us can take the kids that are done out of the apartment while the others finish.

Back to Bath.  Bath is a lovely, mid-size city that’s been settled since the Roman era.  It got its name because of the hot springs (the only ones in England) that occur there.  The Romans built an impressive communal bath there and it’s been attracting people ever since.  

Coming from the United States, it is mind-blowing to stand in a place that has been inhabited for 2,000 years.  The significant churches we have visited in each city were built in the 11th-13th centuries, usually where an earlier church was during Roman or Anglo-Saxon times.  It’s hard to fathom all the people and societies that have been right there where we are standing.  What were they like?  What did they eat?  How did they cook?  What were their families and faith like?. . .  

Even though Bath dates back to the Roman empire, most of the current city was built in the Georgian era.  (That phrase refers to the time in England when they had four kings in a row named George.)  The city has beautiful yet simplistic architecture built of limestone harvested nearby and largely constructed in rows connected to each other.  It was a popular place for people to go for either healing from the Baths or social pleasure for the genteel population, including one of my favorite authors Jane Austen.   

To learn about the city, we followed and read a walking tour from our Rick Steves guidebook the day we got there and then on Sunday afternoon, we took a free walking tour that the city offers daily led by a knowledgeable Bath resident.  Besides those two things, we also visited a small art museum, also on Sunday afternoon and toured the Roman Baths on Tuesday morning before we heading to the Cotswolds. 

While in Bath, we stayed in quaint little, Annabelle’s Guest house that’s in a tall and skinny place in a row of buildings.  Because of this, the rooms are small and only sleep two people at the most, so we rented three rooms:   Arlie and I shared one, Scott and Abe shared another and John had his own room on the top floor.  This arrangement gave the siblings some space from each other, which decreased the friction between them.  Annabelle’s was a great place for our family for many reasons:

• It was very close to the train station so it was an easy walk to and from the station on our travel days.
• It was just a few blocks from the town center so it was easy to walk to see the city, go to the grocery store and restaurants and see places of interest and the kids could go places without us if they wanted.
• It was across the street from the Catholic church, so it was quick and easy to walk to mass on Sunday morning.
• It had a continental breakfast, which is not what we normally eat for breakfast, but at least everyone could get a quick bite to eat with very little effort.  

We loved our time in Bath – walking around the city, eating tasty meals at a pizza restaurant and a Nepalese place, and watching the street performers.  I highly recommend you go there if you ever visit England.