Happy New Year - Welcome to Bath & Cardiff

NEW YEARS EVE

Still overcast and in the 40’s but we are still hoping the sun with somehow break through the cloud cover on at least one of the days we’re here.

I got up a little early this morning so I could take a walk around the hotel grounds. It’s so beautiful there and although the grass was wet with dew it was so nice to be out walking along the paths before the sun had even officially risen.

We left Wolverhampton this morning and arrived in Stratford-upon-Avon around mid-day. As you probably know it’s the birthplace of William Shakespeare. I was so excited as we drove the last few miles into the town which is all pastures and green sheep covered fields. The town center was surprising because it’s become a bustling shopping area which, as you can imagine, made Jean Marie very happy. I went off on my own to explore the historic part of the town which included the Holy Trinity Church where Shakespeare, his wife, daughter and son-in-law are buried. It’s a beautiful old church and the graves are in the back alter area. If you look in the bottom left-hand-corner of this picture you’ll see a small white sign, and under that, inlaid in the floor, is Shakespeare’s headstone. The church dates back to 1210 with additions of south side aisles in the 1300s and the Chancel in the late 1400’s and is small but beautiful with several large stained glass windows.

Right outside the church walls is the Royal Shakespeare Company park with the River Avon running through it. There was a lovely view of the Holy Trinity Church steeple with the river and a river house boat that you can rent for the summer months so I’ve included that picture as well.

When you arrive at the end of the park you come to the Royal Shakespeare Company theater with the old and new sections blended beautifully. And in the back which clearly is one of the oldest parts of the building you can see some brown menacing looking weeds that have crept it’s way up over the years to the rooftop. The first thing I thought of as I approached this view was the lines “Double, double toil and trouble
Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.” I guess since it’s a famous line Shakespeare gave his three Scottish witches it only makes sense it came to mind.

Next I took a walk through town enjoying the quaint little winding streets, the charming buildings that are a mixture of painted wood beams and stone and are somewhat lopsided in places as well as the wonderfully unique shops that you find scattered about the town. I finally, minutes before the designated time to meet mom and Jean Marie, found Shakespeare’s birthplace. The building is incredibly well-preserved but oddly it is surrounded by lots of stores, café’s and fast food restaurants that make it very difficult to immerse yourself fully in the experience. I just couldn’t place Shakespeare in these surroundings walking around his back garden or sitting in the front room writing. But it is 2011 now so it’s only natural for the town to have come into modern times just like the rest of us.

We took a lovely two hour drive down to Bath. I was so excited to get to a town I’ve read so much about in all of Jane Austen’s novels and as we descended the winding road into the valley where Bath happily sits I was not disappointed to find that the whole town has been preserved in all it’s Georgian glory. The buildings were constructed with white Bath stone and they all look similar. Jean Marie found this upsetting and said she was actually having a negative physical reaction to the town where as I found it oddly peaceful and soothing.

We’re booked into the Pulteney Guest House which is a Georgian style home that was converted into a guest house many years ago. The owner, Tina greeted us and showed us to our room in the converted carriage house in the back of the main building. Mom fell in love with the room so I was happy to see you liked my choice.

While talking with Tina we discovered that her mother was from the same province in Italy as my Grandfather and in fact we had just been to visit her town only two years ago. Tina called her mom who was so sweet and chatted with my mother in Italian and gave us some information on her sister who owns a hotel in Grotta Minaldo, Avellino. I think the hotel name is Penda Marion and it’s on Via Valle, Grotta Minaldo, Avellino, Italy and her sisters name is Carina. If you’re ever in the area it might be a nice place to stay.

Mom and I took a 10 minute walk into town over the unique Pulteney Bridge. There are only three other bridges like it in the world and that includes the Ponte Vecchio in Florence and the Ponte di Rialto in Venice. I feel very fortunate to have crossed three of them now although I have no idea where the 4th one is and I couldn’t find any reference to it on the internet. The bridge built in the 1700s is so lovely and we even visited a thrift shop there that benefits Bath Hospice care and we bought a lovely glass bead necklace. I love something I’ll actually use to remember a place I’ve visited rather than some little thing that will just collect dust in my room.

We walked into the center of town where the Roman Baths and Victorian Pump Room is as well as the Thermal Spa. Mom was almost as excited as I was to visit the Thermal Spa and had we arrived 5 minutes later than we did we would have missed the opportunity to get in. They only allow 300 people in the spa at any time and they close the doors promptly at 5:30pm. As we waited for admittance we had an interesting conversation with a couple who lived about an hour and half from Bath and who told us about a spa experience they had in New Zealand that sounded amazing. I think it would be fun to just go from spa to spa to spa all around the world. And yes, I’m sure you all feel the same way I do and if you ever get to the Thermal Sap in Bath do consider the private hot pool. We didn’t have that option but it’s not expensive and you can being up to 12 people in with you. It’s housed just across the old stone street in a repurposed ancient Roman looking ruin.

Once we got in and changed into our bathing suits we went directly to the rooftop, outdoor mineral pool where you paddle about while looking out over the city. We were even treated to some New Years fireworks while we enjoyed the hot water and steamy air.

We then made a visit to the sauna room where there were four large glass pods each with a different temperature and scent. The first is hottest with a scent of lavender, the second a bit cooler with frankincense, the third was just a touch cooler and smelled of eucalyptus and the fourth, the coolest was scented with mint. They also had special air bubble foot baths, a cold shower area and a hot shower area. It was fantastic and we met some lovely ladies from Nottingham, UK and a nice gentlemen from Germany. We actually kept bumping into the same people everywhere we went in the spa. We even met a couple from Italy and the women was from Benevento which is another town not far from where my Grandparents grew up. It’s such a small world.

When we reached the indoor mineral pool, with a large air bubble area and a specially designed water flow contraption that carried your relaxed body around the pool we met up with the couple from the waiting line. They’re very sweet and the husband didn’t want to wear his glasses so he kept mistaking other women for his wife and once he even went to grab onto a women who was in floating mode but at the last moment realized it wasn’t the right one which is probably a good thing because I think her husband wasn’t too far off.

The spa closed at 8:00pm and Jean Marie, who had stayed back at the hotel to rest, met us there for dinner. We had a lovely Chinese dinner and then took a stroll where we bumped into two cops who graciously let us take pictures and gave us some tips on things to do the next day. I realized then that I had left my camera at the spa and was hoping that in the morning they’d have it waiting for me.

It was a wonderful New Year’s Eve and to spend it in a truly beautiful town like Bath was amazing.

NEW YEAR’S DAY

The New Year started off foggy but considerably warm for this time of year.

We started with a nice breakfast and a chat with the Italian women. They made us feel so at home and it was really nice to feel like you were visiting a friend’s home rather than just a hotel. I would recommend this place to anyone who visits bath. And it turned out that I had found a guesthouse that was on the same road and only about a 5 minute walk from where Jane Austen and her family used to stay when they were in Bath. I love coincidences like that.

They also have a huge black and white spotted pet bunny with a large black stripe down it’s whole body. So adorable and we even took a picture of it with the stuffed Timmy Sheep and the bunny was rather enamored with the toy.

Mom and I walked back into town for some sightseeing. The bridge was even more beautiful in the day light and if you look closely at the picture you’ll see mom leaning against the stone wall in the left-hand corner.

Here is a park near the River Avon and look closely to see the angel sculpture and a fun sculpture of a man with his pig.

Just wondering around and going in and our of little side streets we came upon the oldest building in Bath which has been a restaurant/bakery since the 1600’s and is famous for Sally Lunn Buns (see picture.) The restaurant is aptly called Sally Lunns. It was closed or we would most certainly have tried one of the buns. Sally Lunn apparently was a French refugee who arrived in England over 300 years ago and must have brought all the wonderful French baking knowledge with her. In the picture of the building you can see mom next to the red box outside the cafe. I think I'll do segment in the blog "where's mom" like "where's Waldo."

We stopped off at the Thermal Spa to see if they had found my camera and two adorable young Polish men had. They had made my day so I just had to give them both a big hug and they were more than happy to be hugged.

I left mom at the Starbucks since she had had enough with sightseeing and didn’t want to walk up the hill to where the famous Circus and Crescent row house were. I really enjoyed my peaceful walk and love the Georgian architecture. Both the Circus and Crescent were built in the mid-1700s and are in perfect condition to this day.

When I got back to Starbucks mom had been chatting it up with a lovely women from Bath whose daughter worked in the coffee shop and was an aspiring dancer. Jean Marie had also arrived there and was giving the women some information about dance theaters in Dublin.

Well our all-to-short visit to Bath was over and we headed to Capitol of Wales, Cardiff. We were less than an hour on the road when we crossed the enormous suspension bridge that linked this part of England to Wales and before we knew it we were in the city centre. Cardiff is a very modern city and nothing like I’d expected. Wales has only 3 million citizens and I think most of them probably live down here.

We pretty much just relaxed a bit and then Jean Marie and I went into the main shopping area where she puttered about while I used the free internet in Starbucks. I’m not big on chain restaurants especially when I’m traveling overseas but sometimes they’re just what you’re looking for when you need a reliable internet connection.

Dinner was at a local steakhouse and since it was still early we ventured over to the casino next to the restaurant and they give each new visitor 5 pounds to spend at either the roulette table or the blackjack table. I couldn’t believe it but I won 5 pounds but I ended up losing it playing the penny slot machines. Oh, well, it was still nice to win something.

Well all-in-all a very nice quite way to ring in the New Year and I wish everyone a truly joyous, prosperous, healthy, happy and love-filled year.