Bath

Allie in front of British Library.

Before departing for Bath, Allie and LT had another satisfying "full English Breakfast" in the downstairs Jesmond Dean  dining room--occupying one of the corner tables in the room holding just six tables.  LT had already enjoyed two strong cups of Earl Grey tea in Room #2, but Allie sipped the breakfast tea as soon as it was brought.  Fried eggs, sausage, English bacon, and pork-and-beans were dutifully brought, consumed, and enjoyed.  They had an initial installment of 6 half slices of toast, and then, since the staff kept asking the two travellers if they wanted more,  they courteously relented and consumed another two slices.  It was difficult to resist taking toast when the orange marmelade, strawberry jam and blackberry jam were so good.  After breakfast, they walked two blocks west and visited the British Library, which opened at 9:30AM.  Arriving a bit early, they marveled at the way the architect had designed the building as a totally tasteful and modern complement to the St. Pancras Train Station, which towers above it in the next block.  Inside the Library, they saw the beautifully illustrated (illuminated) Lindisfarne Gospels, a wonderful Caxton Canterbury Tales including the only know portrait of Geoffrey Chaucer, Magna Carta, several Shakespeare Quartos and many other written treasures, including a copiously revised and edited page for J. G. Ballard's novel "Crash" and the beginning of the final chapter of Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre" beginning with the famous lines, "Reader, I married him."  They also saw a special exhibit of Beatles documents--famous songs scribbled on scraps of paper, "Michelle," "A Hard Day's Night," "Help" and "Yesterday."  It was amazing to think such famous songs had been just scrawled on any old piece of paper that John or Paul happened to have handy.

LT enjoyed himself so much in the Library that Allie had to remind him that they had a train to catch, so they reluctantly left, collected their bags, hefted (for Allie) and rolled (for LT) their bags down Argyle Street, and down the stairs to the Kings Cross tube station.  LT stuffed a 10 pound note into the ticket machine and got two 4 pound zone one tickets and some change, and the pair were on their way once again.  LT's thirty-two pound suitcase, which had seemed so light when he only had to carry it a few yards, suddenly became very heavy as he was forced to lug in down long flights of tube station stairs and steer it between crowds of fast-walking Londoners on their way to work.  They took the Circle Line from King's Cross, Euston Station, Great Portland Street, Baker Street...finally getting off at Paddington Station.  Allie's sharp eyes saw that there was an 11:00AM train leaving for Bristol Temple Meads, and LT's many experiences on the Bristol train back in the late 70's when he visited the Sister's of Charity in Bristol every summer, reassured him that the Bristol train would stop at Bath Spa.  They boarded the train, which was pretty crowded, found two seats, and sat down for the one hour and a half ride.

View from our B&B window

Leaving London Paddington, the train first stopped at Reading, then headed for Swindon, with the land being very flat, though beautiful because it was all green fields, occasionally broken up with long rectangles of yellow mustard.  As they got further west towards Chippendon, long low hills began to appear, and by the time they reached Bath Spa, they could admire the graceful hills into which the architects of Bath had carefully sculpted long elegant rows and crescents of softly golden hued stone.  Getting off the train, they followed the clear, detailed directions for reaching their B&B at 139 Wells Road.  By design, evidently, the instructions did not mention that every step of the way was uphill.  And LT began to speculate what  (if any) items he could have left back at Wooster Street.   Within 15 minutes or so,  LT and Allie, who are both very fit for their respective ages, arrived at the B&B only a little out of breath. 

Jane Austen never had it so good!

Greetings from Bath! Allie and LT write to you from room number nine One Three Nine Bed & Breakfast. The Thomas family has actually been to this B&B before way back in 2002, when this hotel was known as the Leighton House Bed and Breakfast. It's undergone a name change since then, as well as some redecoration; everything looks very fancy and modern (you can tell who's writing this paragraph, can't you? Come on, basic adjectives plus parenthetical commentary can only mean one writer) and the owners of the B&B, Sharon and Jason, are very nice. When the father-daughter duo approached the B&B after a very arduous hike up the hill behind the train station, Sharon not only opened the door for them, but also served them water and flapjacks (granola-y shortbread with sultanas and chocolate chips) in the drawing room, and gave them a guide to local restaurants in Bath, as well as directions on how to get back into town quickly. Jason came in later, and showed the two Thomases to their room. Once Allie and Dad had unpacked, the two took their little map and digital camera, and returned to Bath for eating and sightseeing.

Kingshead Square--near Mezzaluna

The two had lunch at Mezzaluna, an Italian restaurant in Kingsmead Square. Pup and Allison decided to go here not only because it was listed on Sharon's restaurant guide, but because, on closer inspection of the menu, they discovered that a two-course lunch there was only 8.95 quid (which is probably why it's on guide to begin with.) The restaurant was underground, and was small, cozy, and dimly lit. The waitress was friendly, and the food was delicious. Allie and LT both had portabella mushroom with goat cheese and pine nuts on frizzé lettuce for their appetizer course, and Allie had a sirloin steak with a mustard-caper sauce and roasted vegetables for her main course. For Dad's main course, he had an asparagus risotto and also a glass of Orvieto classico--one of his favorite Italian white wines.  Allie enjoyed the steak, despite having a minute-long coughing fit induced by the peppery mustard sauce (you're probably wondering at this point, okay, where are the photos of the food? Well, there aren't any. I'm sorry! It was dark, the flash would have gone off, and everyone would have looked at us.) They also split a dessert -- chocolate mousse with whipped cream on top. Yummy!

With the fan, Allie signals, "I wish to be acquainted."

Next, LT and Allie visited the Jane Austen Center, enjoyed a very knowledgeable 15 minute lecture on the historical background of Jane Austen's ancestors and the composition of her novels.   Allie confessed that none of her Kent University lecturers had lectured so fast, but the two Jane Austen addicts were enthralled by all the information--some of it brand new, although both Allie and LT are very familiar with all Jane Austen's works.  After enjoying the Jane Austen Center, they decided to walk to St. Swithin's, where Jane Austen's father was buried.  Also buried in the St. Swithin enclosure is Fanny Burney--a late 18th century author who influenced her.  They had only heard about this connection in the Jane Austen Center lecture.

After leaving St. Swithin's, the pair roamed downhill, found an M&S food store they'd mentally noted earlier, bought rocket salad, smoked salmon, sliced fruit,  caesar salad, 1/4 bottle of Beaujolais, and then headed up the hill (thankfully minus their luggage) to their B&B.  Once inside, they chose "Mansfield Park" from among the available DVDs and traipsed up two flights of stairs to enter their quiet, peaceful room, which has a tremendous view of the entire Bath valley.  They can see the bell tower of Bath Abbey as well as the facade with the famous "Jacob's Ladder" columns which line the entrance.   As this entry is being written, at 6:25PM, the sun is casting a golden glow on the Bath stone buildings with their black slate roofs as they sit nestled among the green hills of western England.   Allie is about to go back through today's blog and add the pictures, then we'll eat our dinner and then watch the Jane Austen video of "Mansfield Park."