Sightseeing in Bath

Bath was a very interesting city. It's a bit of a resort town, and has tons of places to shop and do touristy things. Bath is most most famous, though, for being the location of a hot spring that the Romans believed to have healing powers. They built a spectacular pool and place of worship around the spring. (It's called the "Roman Bath," thus the name of the town.) Back in the heyday of the Romans, they actually had no idea why the water came out of the earth at such a hot temperature, and believed that the goddess Minerva was responsible for the phenomenon.  t's really quite a lovely place.

One of the most interesting things about Bath was that all of the buildings in the city center are required by ordinance to be made of the same gorgeous cream-colored stone, called "Bath stone." The end result was that, strolling down the streets, it always felt a little like being on a movie set.

Other than the Roman Bath, we also visited the Fashion Museum (loved the display of vintage swimwear!), saw Bath Abbey, and shopped in all kinds of interesting little marketplaces and stores. I had a great time. Jo, Matt, and Frankie were terrific travel companions.

It has been cracking me up a little, though, to think about what all this much be like from Frankie's perspective. It's a pretty far cry from her life back in Colorado. Here, she's been asked to:

Spend the day looking at weird old things.

Amuse herself listening to stuffy audio tours of various tourist attractions.

Eat long meals every night in boring grown-up restaurants.

Be well-behaved and quiet in fancy hotels.

Get dresed up like a doll by mom and grandma.

Throughout it all, she's honestly been really great. And she's had some moments that she's really enjoyed as well. For example:

Creating the "scarf club" with Grandma.

Visiting a fancy chocolate shop...With free samples!

Eating a fantastic, kid-friendly family lunch a the new Jamie Oliver restaurant. (The children's menu was on a Viewmster!)

Playing in the rain in playgrounds.

Drinking hot cocoa in street cafes.

But to be honest, I think the small girl could probably use a little down time. We're planning a quiet day at home today, and I think Frankie's looking forward to that most of all.