Monday 12 February 2018

Sightseeing

Here are some pictures of Bath. A lovely, largely Georgian city built with local sandstone. So it's all a nice colour. In the sunshine, it's warm and golden. In February in the wet, it's grand, if nothing else! I'm posting them because so many of you, like me, love to see 'travel' photos. 
Cobbled streets were typical. These look fairly modern to me, they probably replaced some two or three hundred year old stones. The modern ones are at least not worn shiny and smooth by the use of horses, carts, peasants and noblemen. In the wet or icy cold, they are lethal to walk on. I wonder how any broken bones are attributable to shiny cobbles. For this wonky balanced woman, they are quite difficult to walk on, even rough and 'modern' looking. Luckily, we avoided them in the main. And when we couldn't, I was able to dramatically grab my chum for physical support when the inevitable nearly happened.
LLJ and I were in Bath together. We walked, shopped and talked. We started with coffee and talking and talked through sightseeing, market shopping and walking a big circle back to our beginning. Didn't notice breath being drawn or awkward pauses. Well, actually there were two moments...hovering, pressure saleswoman thinking it OK to join our conversations in the glass shop, assuming we'd buy more if she was our tour guide/glass officiando/chum. She did cause us to pause and exchange looks. More than once. And then, the tannoy announcement welcoming us to Debenhams and reminding us to buy such and such. We paused..to laugh. It was the most unenthusiastic and badly read, scripted announcement we'd ever heard. 

For those of you living in countries where distances are measured in hours of driving rather than miles, I know you'll be fascinated to know that Bath is only 41 miles from my home. Because there's no better route though..it takes an hour and a half to get there. Worth every minute, but seriously!

12 comments:

Helen said...

Bath is such a beautiful city, and despite the troublesome cobblestones, worth your visit... you're right about those store announcements though, just dreadful!

Lunch Lady Jan said...

It was a Grand Day Out! I'm impressed that you've managed to avoid having any of those tourists in your pics! Hope you've had a good weekend with the Coven 😎
LLJ xxx

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

When I was in grad school, I had an internet friend who lived in Bath. He sent me several postcards of his city and told me about the world famous baths there. The photos you shared were beautiful and I totally enjoyed them. Yes, I live vicariously!

Sue said...

Glad you and Jan had such a lovely day. Thanks for sharing the photos.

Hope you have a good start to the week. Sue

Claire said...

Ahhh, one of my favourite cities... Oxford will always be my first love, though :D xx

pearshapedcrafting said...

Haven't been to Bath for years but these photos reminds me how beautiful it is! Glad you and LLJ had a good time!Chrisx

Annie Claxton said...

Aaahhhh it looks beautiful - I'll be staying there with some girlie mates in September, so it's nice to get a little preview! So much to see :)

Zsuzsa Karoly-Smith said...

Oh Bath! My husband took me there on our first outing together (before we were married). Lovely photos reminding me of that day 17 years ago almost to the day! And you're right, in Britain we can't say something is an hour's drive away to measure distance - it could be just down the road in rush hour traffic LOL!

Cara said...

Sounds like you had a lovely time. I remember the drive to Bath from Salisbury well, there are some good hills and some piddly roads!

StampinCarol said...

How fascinating! Love seeing photos of cities that I'll never visit! And such beautiful architecture! Of course, spending time with LLJ is wonderful! LOL!
Carol N

Shaz in Oz.CalligraphyCards said...

agree about Bath Julia truly grand pale to visit .. am sure you and LLJ had simply fab time together!
hugs Shaz in steamy hot old Oz.x

Neet said...

I have never been to Bath but always wanted to. Seeing these photos at first I thought you were somewhere on the Continent. What a beautiful city it is and now I want to visit even more. Not sure about the cobbles though! Lovely that you shared it with your closest friend LLJ, and the warmth and fun you two have together shone through your post.
Had to smile at your comments about "sales chat" - so infuriating - why do we need help when browsing? Nothing worse than a salesperson hanging on your arm all the time.
Also, it is so true about travel and time - in America where I have just been thousands of miles means nothing - funny how the other half live.
Hugs, Neet xx