Sunday August 18
So today it’s off to Bath. Load all the hand luggage into the car, and then our last breakfast. When it’s time to pick up our bag and load it, it’s raining. Fuck.
While we’re checking out, both receptionists are distracted by one guest. It appears that we have a Japanese girl here. Problem is that her bus trip left 45 minutes ago, and she clearly hasn’t studied A-level English. They did establish that her flight home leaves this afternoon. Next question is which airport.
Imagine how much shit is going to hit the fan when her parents find out her classmates and teachers/chaperones drove off in the bus without her!!🤦🏼♂️ I’m thinking the teachers will be planning new careers. If she misses her flight, they had probably best miss it as well. Permanently.
Anyway, we get on the road, and Sarah programs our next hotel into the machine. We didn’t realize it for about 40 minutes, but she had selected Bath Parade from the selection offered. While we were looking for the Promenade in Bath, Gladys the GPS was taking us to Cheltenham. Not exactly in the right direction, but easily fixed.
So we arrived at the hotel. It has no parking. They suggest a pay and display car park about 100 yards around the corner. We do that.
Now, before we left Oxford, Sarah had already chosen where she will be doing lunch and dinner in Bath. Retentive much? She has no idea where they are, she just wants to eat there. One is Thai, the other is Nepalese.
Now after we park the car, we walk back towards the hotel. There’s the Nepalese restaurant. And two doors down is the Thai. Literally round the corner, probably the same building as the hotel!! So we book the Nepalese for tonight, and head into the Thai for lunch.
Room won’t be ready till 15 o’clock. They’re holding the bags. HOHO bus stop outside the hotel. Easy maths.
By the way, someone told Sarah to check out a place called Sally Lunn’s Eating House. Look to the right of the hotel. There it is.
Two famous things in Bath. First, Bath Abbey. Go past Sally Lunn’s. It’s right there. Second, Bath’s Baths. Go to the Abbey’s front door. It’s right behind you.
Like I said about how great it would have been to be in a hotel in George Square in Glasgow? This is better. Sarah’s genius hotel selection has found another winner. This is so much the centre of the Bath universe that the hotel gives complimentary earplugs. It’s an old building, so I expected not a lot of sound insulation. But this really must be party central some nights.
So we do the bus. There are two routes, and they’re about 40 minutes each. The second one finishes outside the abbey. Literally an Australian underarm throw from the Abbey Hotel. Too easy.
Sarah wants to ‘do’ the Baths. Roman Baths, for the philistines. Cost £38.25 for both of us. Sarah has discovered that there is a senior rate to many things, so it’s one adult and one mature student, thanks. I should have realised by the price that it’s more than just a few hot rocks in an old puddle.
ITS A FUCKING MUSEUM!!!🤦🏼♂️🤦🏼♂️🤦🏼♂️🤦🏼♂️🤦🏼♂️
Smile and nod. I pick up a free audio guide, hoping to glean some historical gems for you, my beloved readers. Given Sarah’s attention span, it is no surprise that she didn’t want one. In fact, it was all I could do to get her to slow down long enough for me to take a few photos, to prove we were even there. Apparently she absorbs history through osmosis, so she just needs to walk through and see stuff. I abandoned the audio guide after less than 5 minutes.
You want historical gems on the place? Ask uncle google.
Here’s an example of Elizabethan solar power. See, nothing is new.
One thing I did get from the HOHO guide. I was told this on our tour, but forgot to mention it.
When you see houses like the ones in todays photos, or previously, you may notice that some houses had windows obviously blocked up. You could see that it was a window. They’re not trying to hide it. Just block it. Here’s the reason.
Apparently, if you had more than a prescribed square footage of glass (windows), you are deemed to be rich. If you are rich, your tax rate is much higher. So people found an easy solution. Reduce the glass, reduce the windows. I imagine they left the ex-windows for all to see as something of a middle finger to the taxman. In fact, people of the time were so incensed by this window tax, that they gave it a name:
Daylight Robbery.
See what I mean?
Apparently this is the oldest pub in town.
Something else from the HOHO guide: when the Romans were conquering the known worlds, one of the things on their To Do list was to record and name the rivers. When they came to Bath, they asked the local Celts what the name of the river was. Avon, they were told. Fine then, henceforth this shall be the river Avon. What the clot didn’t realise, was that the Celt had just told him their word for “river”. Worse, the muppets made the same mistake 4 more times in England. There are 5 Avon Rivers. Or is that the Avon Avon, or the River River, or the Avon River, or the River Avon?
This is the chandelier decoration in the bar at our hotel. Cool.
Here’s lots of buildings in Bath. I know, I know. Too many buildings.
So today it’s off to Bath. Load all the hand luggage into the car, and then our last breakfast. When it’s time to pick up our bag and load it, it’s raining. Fuck.
While we’re checking out, both receptionists are distracted by one guest. It appears that we have a Japanese girl here. Problem is that her bus trip left 45 minutes ago, and she clearly hasn’t studied A-level English. They did establish that her flight home leaves this afternoon. Next question is which airport.
Imagine how much shit is going to hit the fan when her parents find out her classmates and teachers/chaperones drove off in the bus without her!!🤦🏼♂️ I’m thinking the teachers will be planning new careers. If she misses her flight, they had probably best miss it as well. Permanently.
Anyway, we get on the road, and Sarah programs our next hotel into the machine. We didn’t realize it for about 40 minutes, but she had selected Bath Parade from the selection offered. While we were looking for the Promenade in Bath, Gladys the GPS was taking us to Cheltenham. Not exactly in the right direction, but easily fixed.
So we arrived at the hotel. It has no parking. They suggest a pay and display car park about 100 yards around the corner. We do that.
Now, before we left Oxford, Sarah had already chosen where she will be doing lunch and dinner in Bath. Retentive much? She has no idea where they are, she just wants to eat there. One is Thai, the other is Nepalese.
Now after we park the car, we walk back towards the hotel. There’s the Nepalese restaurant. And two doors down is the Thai. Literally round the corner, probably the same building as the hotel!! So we book the Nepalese for tonight, and head into the Thai for lunch.
Room won’t be ready till 15 o’clock. They’re holding the bags. HOHO bus stop outside the hotel. Easy maths.
By the way, someone told Sarah to check out a place called Sally Lunn’s Eating House. Look to the right of the hotel. There it is.
Two famous things in Bath. First, Bath Abbey. Go past Sally Lunn’s. It’s right there. Second, Bath’s Baths. Go to the Abbey’s front door. It’s right behind you.
Like I said about how great it would have been to be in a hotel in George Square in Glasgow? This is better. Sarah’s genius hotel selection has found another winner. This is so much the centre of the Bath universe that the hotel gives complimentary earplugs. It’s an old building, so I expected not a lot of sound insulation. But this really must be party central some nights.
So we do the bus. There are two routes, and they’re about 40 minutes each. The second one finishes outside the abbey. Literally an Australian underarm throw from the Abbey Hotel. Too easy.
Sarah wants to ‘do’ the Baths. Roman Baths, for the philistines. Cost £38.25 for both of us. Sarah has discovered that there is a senior rate to many things, so it’s one adult and one mature student, thanks. I should have realised by the price that it’s more than just a few hot rocks in an old puddle.
ITS A FUCKING MUSEUM!!!🤦🏼♂️🤦🏼♂️🤦🏼♂️🤦🏼♂️🤦🏼♂️
Smile and nod. I pick up a free audio guide, hoping to glean some historical gems for you, my beloved readers. Given Sarah’s attention span, it is no surprise that she didn’t want one. In fact, it was all I could do to get her to slow down long enough for me to take a few photos, to prove we were even there. Apparently she absorbs history through osmosis, so she just needs to walk through and see stuff. I abandoned the audio guide after less than 5 minutes.
You want historical gems on the place? Ask uncle google.
Here’s an example of Elizabethan solar power. See, nothing is new.
One thing I did get from the HOHO guide. I was told this on our tour, but forgot to mention it.
When you see houses like the ones in todays photos, or previously, you may notice that some houses had windows obviously blocked up. You could see that it was a window. They’re not trying to hide it. Just block it. Here’s the reason.
Apparently, if you had more than a prescribed square footage of glass (windows), you are deemed to be rich. If you are rich, your tax rate is much higher. So people found an easy solution. Reduce the glass, reduce the windows. I imagine they left the ex-windows for all to see as something of a middle finger to the taxman. In fact, people of the time were so incensed by this window tax, that they gave it a name:
Daylight Robbery.
See what I mean?
Apparently this is the oldest pub in town.
Something else from the HOHO guide: when the Romans were conquering the known worlds, one of the things on their To Do list was to record and name the rivers. When they came to Bath, they asked the local Celts what the name of the river was. Avon, they were told. Fine then, henceforth this shall be the river Avon. What the clot didn’t realise, was that the Celt had just told him their word for “river”. Worse, the muppets made the same mistake 4 more times in England. There are 5 Avon Rivers. Or is that the Avon Avon, or the River River, or the Avon River, or the River Avon?
This is the chandelier decoration in the bar at our hotel. Cool.
Here’s lots of buildings in Bath. I know, I know. Too many buildings.
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