i would bathe ten times a day in Bath

(pictures: roommate and i by the roman baths; the abbey at bath; a view of the baths with the abbey in the background; a street performer right outside the roman baths; me being a statue...i used to hold a spear, but what with erosion and vandalism and all, now there is just an extended arm)

At 9 am sharp Saturday morning, two busloads of americans departed from Regent's College on a very quiet coach bus for the three hour journey to Bath. The views on the ride there were very nice, seeing as we could see fields and sheep for miles. It was fun trying to take pictures out of the bus window while people all around you are trying to sleep. When we did finally arrive, my roommate Andria, Joao (who is from Brazil), and Chrys (who is from France) went on the audio tour of Bath, with the rest of the first group of 30 or so students.

We walked around listening to the facts about Bath while we stared in awe at the structure that has been functional since the Roman rule over Britain. Some of it has been restored, but for the most part, the area is original stone and the water still flows in from local hot springs. The baths were used a bit like present day golf courses: for recreation, as well as socialization, business, politics, etc. It is amazing to look at the steps to the temple that are so worn they are curved, and think about the sheer amount of people that must have come in and out of this complex. The water now is green, whereas it would have been clear back in the day, due to algae from constant exposure to the sun. The roof would have been covered in Roman times but it is now open, with a balcony area that provides fantastic views. Another reason it is so nice to have an open roof is because you have a great view of the abbey that is right next to the Roman Bath complex.

The complex also housed a temple to Minerva, the goddess of wisdom, and they had fragments of curses that romans had inscribed onto metal and tossed into a pool in hopes that Minerva could help them find people who had offended them. The curses were rather petty, but humorous.Such as, "Some hooligan stole my working gloves, and due to the delicate nature of my hands, i can no longer work. my lace gloves just won't do in the field. I think Tiberius did it. Therfore, he shall have his left eye poked out, his nostrils stolen, and a general plague upon his soul." Well. ..they weren't quite like that, but one was about stolen gloves and odd punishments. You'll just have to go see for yourself. We took some photos standing on rocks, posing as statues, that we probably shouldn't have taken , but hey, when am i going to go back to Bath?

Whenever i was near the bath, or the chutes that run water into the baths, i could feel the hot air rising off of the water. i very much wanted to jump in, despite the fact that it would have been very unsanitary and i would have most certianly come down with the plague. or the avian flu. Yes, they tell you not to touch the water in the roman bath, but as you exit the tour and go to the pump room, they offer you warm spring water for 50 p. I assume the water is fresh from the spring and has not been sitting in a pool collecting microorganisms. We tried it, and it tasted a bit of sulfur. But it was genuine, and that's what matters.

I've decided i am not very good at relaying the historical information, so i shall try to get better and retain more information. If you ask specific questions..i may or may not know the answer.
After seeing the baths themselves we took a peek in the Abbey, but did not go in, because people were praying and i always feel a bit intrusive in that situation for some reason. We did not have much time to see other things, so we got ice cream ( i saw many people with ice cream this day), passed the horse driven coach where the driver was allowing a small girl to feed the horse carrots, and walked towards the bridge over the River Avon. We watched a bit of a rugby match from afar, looked at the landscape, walked back, and got on the bus for the drive back.