Hop On

SONG -  Scarborough Fair by Simon & Garfunkel 

Day 5 - Sat. May 4

Mr. B had read about the Antique & Flea Market that happens every Saturday in Bath so Saturday morning we decided to go check it out.  We had gotten up a little on the late side so we headed over to the market and found a shop just across the street to have a light lunch.

It’s been a while since I’ve had a good poke around a flea market and it was delightful!  I found several small two-pronged silver forks that would be perfect for a charcuterie board and I got them for a song.

We then walked back towards the Abbey square but spotted a bright red HoHo bus parked right in front of us and we decided to hop on since my knee was barking at me. It was a perfect sunny afternoon to sit up top and enjoy the tour.  We were taken past all of the tourist stops in Bath - the Circus, Pulteney Bridge, Jane Austen’s home, the Assembly Rooms, etc., but I found other things that caught my eye  

There were narrow boats and flowers, advertising signs & chimney pots, people watching & quaint bridges with toll booths to be enjoyed  

Dinner that night was at a Mediterranean restaurant, Portofino Oyster Bar in old town which Mr. B thoroughly enjoyed - Sea Bass & Muscles!

Hope to catch you tomorrow!

It’s About Time

 SONG - Time is on My Side by The Rolling Stones

Day 4 - Fri. May 3

After 13 hours - yes 13 much needed hours of sleep - we are ready to explore Bath!  Mr. B found a tiny restaurant nearby that served breakfast, The Courtyard Cafe. The owners were both French of course.  I had scones with clotted cream & jam while Mr. B ordered pancakes.  

First we headed to the Bath Abbey where there has been a place of Christian worship on this site for well over one thousand years.  Three different churches have occupied the site of today’s abbey since 757 AD. First an Anglo-Saxon monastery which was replaced by a Norman Cathedral to the present day abbey, which was the last great Medieval church built in the country.

From the abbey we headed to the Victoria Gallery to see an exhibit that I had read about at home - Toulouse-Lautrec and the Masters of Montmartre.

Mr. B and I saw quite a few of Lautrec’s pieces in his hometown of Albi, France many years ago but it was wonderful to see some in a more intimate setting.

A visit to the Pulteney Bridge and the River Avon and we were off to Sally Lynn’s for lunch - yum!

Headed home for a rest and then out to dinner. Mr. B got us 8 pm reservations at The Elder which is our hotel’s restaurant.  All I can say is Yum - again!

Smoke On The Water

SONG - Smoke On The Water by Deep Purple

Day 3 - Thursday May 2 

We awoke to hotel fire alarm testing at 8 am that continued for hours, we had thunder and lightening throughout the night which woke us up and we were both totally exhausted due to jet lag. But we have arrived and we are so happy to be here!

The hotel that I picked out months ago at home turned out to be perfect for us - it is Hotel Indigo. Its location is excellent, it has a great bar & restaurant- The Elder and friendly staff. 

At breakfast we sat next to four (80 plus year old) ladies who were traveling together and it was fun to listen to their discussion. Husbands that don’t pick up after themselves, kids who rarely visit, how high the price of food has gotten (it’s so bad that one of them doesn’t even look at the prices anymore) and how important it is to have proper high eyebrows to make one look younger. And why does god take hairs from your eyebrows only then to grow them on your chin!

Afterwards we went shopping for a few items for our mini-fridge and the correct international plugs - apparently my French plugs don’t work in the UK….oops!   We spent the rest of the day relaxing and strolling around Bath. 

We dined nearby at the Huntsman and even stayed up late enough for Mr. B to join in Quiz Night with the locals which was hosted by Grace from Bristol. 

By 8:30 they weren’t even close to being done with the quiz but we were toast so off to our hotel to get some sleep!

See you tomorrow!

Leaving On a Jet Plane

SONG - Leaving on a Jet Plane by John Denver & Cass Elliot

Days 1 & 2 - Tuesday April 30 & Wednesday May1

So today I got on a plane with Mr. B and we are heading to London, picking up a car and driving to Bath for 5 nights. But first 10 hours of flying - yikes!  And when we get to Bath it will be Wednesday and raining all week!

 Not sure why I was surprised as Great Britain is known for its damp weather.  I guess we will get a quick induction to England. 

Neither of us slept much on the plane and as soon as we landed we grabbed our luggage, got on a shuttle to the car rental, became familiar with setting up the cars mapping system, jumped on the M4 and headed to our hotel in Bath.  

When asked by the receptionist as to what time she should reserve our breakfast for the next day, I said 9:30? And Mr. B said 10. The receptionist said “Ah, going to have a proper lie down then?” Love both the English accent and phrases!

Once outside, instead of rain we found musicians playing music in the sunshine on the Abbey square with tourists and locals enjoying themselves.

Our itinerary is Bath, Cotswolds, Lake District, Glasgow (where I had relatives), Stirling (where Mr. B had relatives), Edinburgh (where we both had relatives), down to York and finish it off with some time in London.

Hope you will come along with me on this journey  

“Oh! Who can ever be tired of Bath?”

Jane Austen

Wandering

Song - Fallen Through Time by Bear McCreary

Today I was playing music from our Scotland-England trip while painting these darling kids running home from school in Bath, England.  The playlist was for a CD that I made of our trip and included the above song.

Can you imagine the joy?

And that's exactly how I looked today when I got a new Mother Board put into my dead computer. 

 Yes.  I know.  

Right after my last blog post about the lovely rain, we had several power outages and my computer would not restart.  

After finding out that my brilliant computer guy was sick with the flu and that he wasn't even joking when he texted me "Oh Jeanette....I am so sorry but your computer really is dead"!  

 So I put on my big girl boots and called Dell.

Two hours later after a very patient man walked me though opening up the side of my computer and unplugging stuff and plugging in other stuff and turning it on and off and beeps and timing flashing lights and there may have been a few tears.....

...it was determined that I needed a new Mother Board.

Huh?

I texted my sick computer guy and he said that he was VERY proud of me!

I'll have you know that I went through withdrawals being without my computer.

Photos

Resources

Recipes

Blogging

Genealogy

Finances

Music

Information 

Art

well, you know....

So I now can take a deep breath and appreciate all that my trusty little computer gives me.

While painting, I looked out of our back door to the little bird house that Mr. B bought for our yard and I saw some activity in there. (You can read about Mr. B's purchase HERE)

An Oak Titmouse was checking it out for a nest.  Later in the day she brought her hubby along to show him the real estate she had found.  He must of given her the green light because the two of them were busy building that nest all day long. 

Mama bird would fly in and out with soft bits of fuzz in her beak while the proud dad would sing from the Maple tree above with joy.

And off she goes to find more nesting stuff.

I can't tell you how much joy this brings to my heart.

“If you will stay close to nature, 

to its simplicity, to the small things hardly noticeable, 

those things can unexpectedly become great and immeasurable.”

 --Rainer Maria Rilke

Piggy Shoes

We wish we had more time to explore Bath - its buildings, history, parks and people but we are off on new adventures in the morning. 

 Today we did the HoHo bus tour - Hop On Hop Off Tour.  The first one was the scenic view of the city and the guy announcing was great.  Mr. B needed to check his map to make sure the guy had all of his facts straight.  

 Then we took a break and sat near the abbey to listen to live music.  There was also this amazing street performer who never blinked an eye or moved a muscle.  

 

The Roman Baths were next.  I expected touristy but they were pretty amazing.  

 

Guilt bronze head of the Goddess Sulis Minerva - a combination of a Celtic god & the Roman peasant god and was discovered in the 1700's. 

 

Lots of information about the various buildings, temples, hot baths, cold baths, Sacred Springs as well as the findings of coins, jewels, combs, tools and "curses". The Romans would write on a piece of tin about a theft or problem and toss it into the bath which was supposed to help them solve the problem or at least curse the bad guy!

 

There were several groups of small school children learning about the baths today. You haven't lived until you hear little ones with an English accent!  Remember that YouTube video of "Charlie bit my finger"?

After that we decided to take our other HoHo tour within the city. 

 

The Pulteney Bridge with lots of shops inside. 

 

About 3 pm we were getting a little hungry and although it seemed very Tourisy (once again) we walked over to dine at Sally Lunn's were they serve an amazing bun with toppings and with tea.  Boy was it great!  The house is the oldest in Bath circa 1482 and Sally's has been serving her buns since 1680. Mm....we finished it off with Apple Cake & clotted cream. 

 

Walking back to our hotel we poked into a few shops.  Our dinner reservations were not until 8 pm so we didn't want to spend time in our room where we might be tempted to fall asleep so we headed to our back garden to read. Lovely day and a great dinner at The Circus. 

 

Now you are probably wondering about my title if "piggy shoes".......while we were eating breakfast outside near the abbey, there was a young woman hawking magazines and yelling "piggy shoes" nearby.  I finally asked Mr. B the meaning behind this (because he knows so much about history & such).

 He replied "she is saying Big Issue with an English accent."

Pray for me my friends - we have a month to go!

Word of the day - if American fries are called chips in England the what are American chips called?

"Crisps".....of course!

***Bonus Question - Guess who has a home in Bath?  Rolling Stones rocker Ronnie Wood!