So David dropped us off at McDonald's at 7 AM on this cold, dark and foggy morning, so he could make it to his meeting on time. Mom and I settled in with breakfast in some comfy chairs in towards the back and prepared ourselves to wait until the 9 AM opening time for Bath Abbey. For those of you who've read the blog all the way along or visited the website, you know that I've been to Bath several times; but this was the first visit I was going to make to Bath Abbey and I was excited about that.
Mom and I watched one of the street fruit markets completely set up and start selling. They were offering all kinds of bargains including pineapples for £1. The passers-by on their way to work seemed to agree with the prices as they were off to a good start to their morning by the time we headed off for our short walk to Bath Abbey.
 |
| From 2008-1128 Bath Abbey |
The walk was shorter than anticipated and so we had a bit of time to wait before the Abbey opened up. We entertained ourselves by getting some pictures of the exterior before the chilly weather helped us decide that we should maybe do some shopping in the nearby National Trust shop that had just unlocked their doors for the morning. We did some brief shopping among their varied items and Mom purchased a guidebook for Bath when we figured the Church would be open and we could venture in.
Our first impression of the Abbey didn't disappoint
 |
| From 2008-1128 Bath Abbey |
And as luck would have it there were plenty of volunteers who were preparing the Abbey for Christmas festivities. The place was bustling and not just with tourists. As we wandered through, we noted that the volunteers were putting up so many shelves that would hold candles and I found myself getting the chills thinking of the beauty of this place when lit by Candlelight for a Christmas Eve's service singing Silent Night. Although I'm not sure if their traditions are the same as ours, it's funny how you put your own viewpoint on things isn't it?
Anyway, we were so very impressed with the entire structure and it's care and upkeep. Up until Bath Abbey I had thought Wells to be the most beautiful that I'd been in, but Bath Abbey came a close second. I think it missed the mark just simply because it isn't as big as Wells, but it certainly had less commercialism and felt more like a church. Although it still held a lot of it's historical feel it had added some modern amenities.
If you are interested in seeing more of the beauty of Bath Abbey, watch the following slideshow.
After being amazed by Bath Abbey we headed to the Costa Coffee to have a quick seat and beverage before heading into the Roman Baths. Did I mention that it was cold today? Check out all the fog coming off that warm water.
 |
| From 2008-1128 Roman Baths |
Here is Mom enjoying the view over the largest of the Roman Baths
 |
| From 2008-1128 Roman Baths |
The complex is quite large and extensive and I was surprised to see that they were doing more work on it so some of the items in the Museum part had bee moved around while new ones were installed. I think it will be a fabulous addition to what is already present and it is good that they are changing things to keep people coming back for something new.
For all the pictures taken on this trip, watch the below slideshow
As we finished our tour we decided it was long past time for lunch. So we stopped at the Pasties shop and sat down to a traditional pastie just as David called us to let us know that he was going to be nearby to pick us up within the next 1/2 hour or so. The unfortunate thing about the pastie shop is that it's seating was outdoors . . and did I mention it was cold? We ate rather quickly and accessorized our pastie with a hot chocolate in the hopes of keeping warm.
As luck would have it, Bath was having their Christmas Fayre and so the streets were becoming quite busy as everyone set about their Christmas shopping. Additionally, we were able to watch some of the kids sing Christmas Hymns outside Bath Abbey for a brief time. Spectacular!!!
Just then we decided we needed to get out of the cold and we needed something sweet to top off our lunch so we wandered into Jim's Fudge Shop for the "Demonstrations" and "Free Samples" that had been advertised both with signs and verbal enticements. The personnel were very friendly and fun and before we left Mom ended up buying 4 different kinds of fudge. It was all very tasty and much enjoyed!!!! An instant sugar rush for each of us after our long day.
Because of the extra people and traffic caused by the Fayre, David had some difficulty getting into the arranged meeting place but he pulled it off and picked us up quite nicely and we headed off for home exhausted with all that we'd seen.
No comments:
Post a Comment