Roman Baths Museum

The museum houses artefacts from the Roman period including objects which were thrown into the Sacred Spring, presumably as offerings to the goddess.  Some Romans threw curses written on sheets of lead into the baths, asking the goddess to curse a person who had done them wrong. 

Of course, the baths were also used for bathing, the water getting between 64-96 degrees.  The Roman baths are no longer used for bathing after a young girl was given lead poisoning. 

Bathing in Bath...

Bathing in Bath is like having a day at the Spa.  We got a 3hr ticket and lazed around in the outdoor and indoor hot baths and the sauna.  It was lovely, especially after having been in the -3 weather all day. 

Jane Austen Museum

Jane Austen spent much of her life in Bath and based two of her novels there - Persuasion and Northanger Abby.  The books view bath from two different perspectives which likely reflect Austen's view of Bath at different times.  Austen wrote about the life/people she knew, so much of Bath is reflected in her novels.  For example, there is a 'Bennet street' (Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice) and a 'Barton street' (Barton Cottage in Sense and Sensibility).  The Assembly Rooms were also a large part of her novels where the aristocracy would meet for dances, tea and to determine who was in town. 

A must see for any Austen fan, we both thoroughly enjoyed the museum and Assembly Rooms...and Sophie may or may not have brought her 3rd copy of the movie 'Emma' (all different versions of course) :)

Bath - the city...

Bath is situated in the south west of England and has been attracting people for centuries!  It is one of the only world heritage cities. It was first famous as the Roman Baths in 43 AD and then rediscovered in Georgian era as a fashionable place to 'take the waters' (which were believed to have healing properties) and to meet other members of the aristocracy. 

Famous residents of Bath have included Jane Austen, and today, Nicholas Cage and Jonny Depp :)

Taking the waters (which incidentally taste terrible!)

British Museum

The British Museum is home to some of the most fascinating exhibitions in the world - from Ancient Egypt to Medieval Europe to the Middle East.  We would have loved to spend several more hours there. 

One of the most famous items on display was the Rosetta stone which was essential to deciphering Egyptians' hieroglyphics. 

St Paul's, Shakespear's Globe and the Tower of London

With Sophie heading off to the National Film Archives, Peta decided to check out St Paul’s Cathedral, Shakespeare’s Globe and the Tower of London.

St Paul’s Cathedral: since it was Sunday there was a service in progress, so we were only able to go into the back of the Cathedral. It was nevertheless quite beautiful – all gorgeous paintings and gold leaf, with a couple of huge domes and the recognisable checkerboard floor. St Pauls is most recently known as the place of Diana and Charles’ wedding (Diana got Charles’ name wrong and the marriage really just didn’t work out anyway).  Apparently it’s still a criminal offence here to suggest getting rid of the royal family, but I’m sure you can see where this is going anyway...

Shakespeare’s Globe: A must see for any Shakespeare fan, this was actually the 3^rd Shakespeare Globe.  The first one burnt down when a special effects prank went wrong in the early 1600s and set fire to the roof.  Everyone was so captivated by the play (which incidentally was King Henry V) that they didn’t realise the place had caught fire until it started burning down around them, instead thinking all the smoke was coming from the city outside. The second globe was shut down by the Royal Family when a puritan king (or queen, I can’t remember). The current globe was made with all the materials the first was made of – mainly of oak with a thatched roof. Unfortunately the performance season is April to August so there were no plays on.

Tower of London: A quick walk down the edge of the Thames and across London Bridge brings you to the Tower of London. It is £14.50 to enter but extremely interesting and lot of fun. The Yeoman Warders give an hour long introductory tour full of humour and jokes (after welcoming the Australians home, the guide demonstrated his vast knowledge of geography by informing everyone that Australia was the largest island of the New Zealand group - finally someone pays out Australia in favour of the New Zealanders!!!). The Tower of London is where they keep the crown jewels, so you get to admire, from behind the glass case, the beautiful hug diamonds, rubies and sapphires of the royal family. The Tower is historically, were all those who committed high treason, or who we Catholic at the time Britain was Protestant, were taken to be executed and tortured, and a number of torture devices (including the rack) were on display. The last person to be executed in the tower was a Nazi Spy, who was captured only moments after he parachuted into England because of his strong German accent (really and truly the Germans should have thought that one through a bit better!).

National Gallery

Situated in Trafalgar Square, the National Gallery was founded by William Wilkins in 1838.  Some of its most famous and exciting works included Botticelli’s ‘Venus and Mars,’ Monet’s ‘WaterLillies, Setting Sun’ and Van Gogh’s ‘Sunflowers.’