My view of Bath...

This is a photo post really, with a few words now and then. Our last full day - this included an escape to the local Pizza Express for supper, but more of that later.

And below we have a view of the ward. Yes, it is oldfashioned, but the treatment was state of the art, so I was more than happy. My bed was the one in the middle of the photo, with the curtains slightly drawn. We never bothered with curtains though. And we lay in bed when we all switched off the lights saying...Night, John-boy, Goodnight Mary Ellen, etc etc. The Waltons. That's who we were. The nurses thought it was hilarious.

I love these chimney pots. This was in the lane next to the hospital.

I hopped on this tour bus a few times, over the weekend. One ticket was valid for 2 days and it was a great way to see the city. Our guides were superb too. There were 2 routes and I did them both.

Nothing like spring, is there - this aubretia was tumbling through the fence.......

The Royal Crescent. Magnificent.

And this is the Circus, a circular ring of houses, around a park. One of these you see here was bought recently by Nicholas Cage for £4.5 million. There seems to be no recession in Bath, by the way. Houses cost the earth.

And guess where I ended up after a morning of following my nose around strange corners, and wafting over cobbled streets???

Jane Austen's house. I saw it from the bottom of a hill and decided that I would get there one way or another. So I staggered in the door with my stick and found myself in the shop. I asked if there was a tearoom, and was delighted to hear there was. On the 2nd floor. I told them I would get there if I had to go up on my rear. And up I hobbled........

It was so pretty and I thought of all of you Jane Austen fans and decided to celebrate for all of us. So........

I sat down.......

I ordered coffee ( I don't drink tea)....and.......

Crumpets with honey and double cream. Warm crumpets.........

Let's get a little closer, shall we.........

The only other people there were an American couple, who, I think, thought I was as mad as a hatter when I started taking photos of my crumpets.

So completley English, don't you think??

One of the many interesting things the guide told us was about the bricked up windows which were to be found all over the place. One king imposed a window tax on the nation, to raise money, so shrewd and frugal homeowners bricked up their windows to avoid paying. Did you know that the saying "Daylight robbery" comes from this tax?? I had no idea. It makes sense though.

And then on the middle Saturday, I wandered abound the centre of the city and saw the edge of the Rec, where there was a rugby match in progress.

And I looked at the spring blossom and dreamt of hot sunny days to c0me.......

Pink is such a soft and beautiful colour. I think I need to go pink for a while. Soft and pretty, and feminine. Fluffy. Oh Linds, get a grip.

And this is Sally Lunn's house. In 1680 she started working for a baker, and introduced the Sally Lunn bun. In 1984, some excavation was done in the cellar, and the remains of a Roman villa from about AD200 were discovered. The little cellar museum is fascinating. And yes, I sat on the first floor in the tea room and had a Sally Lunn bun. I thought I had a photo, but must have been dreaming.

This is the Royal Theatre, taken from our ward window. We were in the heart of theatre land but our 9.30pm curfew (about which we wrote copious comments) precluded any forays.

There are only 3 bridges in the world, apparently, where there are shops on both sides of a bridge. The other 2 are in Italy - in Venice (the Rialto) and in Florence (the Ponte Vecchio) and then here in Bath. The Pulteney Bridge. Just look at the reflection in the water.

So there you are. The 2 visits to tearooms were on different days, may I add, and they have directly influenced the slightly elevated reading on the scales. I am beyond worrying right now. The weather was so stunning, that I had to get out in any free time I had, which was not a great deal. However, there was the weekend in the middle and I was out those doors like a bullet. Well, I like to think I was speedy but we will gloss over that part.

I loved the city of Bath. So much history and so beautiful. And small and compact and yes, I know the traffic is a nightmare, but I was on foot so it didn't bother me at all. I would love to go back. Apparently it now has the dubious honour of being the most expensive place to stay (on average) in England. The average hotel charge is £119 per night or something like that, and London is now slightly cheaper. But go and see for yourselves when you come to England. You will not regret it. At all.