Overnight in Bath

After Stonehenge we continued on to the town of Bath about 2 hrs. west of London. Bath is absolutely charming. It is situated on the River Avon and has a lot of old world charm. It reminded J & I of Paris. Except for the feeling that it is one big outdoor mall. Name any brand or retail chain and you could find a store for it in Bath.

By the time we arrived, I was definitely feeling much more comfortable driving on the other side of the road. However it's relatively easy when you're driving on highways and wide roads. When we hit Bath, we had no idea where we were going, no idea what roads we could/could not drive on and basically found ourselves here. Except not on foot but in the car.We still don't know if we were actually allowed to drive on this street or not but luckily no pedestrians were harmed and we eventually found our hotel a few blocks away. The place we stayed in was actually a 2 bdr. apartment complete with a living room and kitchen. Definitely more than we needed for an overnight stay but the only room available when I booked.

After dropping our bags off we walked around the city past Bath Abbey and across Pultney Bridge, one of only three bridges in the world lined with shops.We conveniently walked by the famous 'circus' on our way to dinner.The restaurant was on a cute pedestrian street and we were the only ones in the restaurant (not because of the quality of the food, but the time of our dinner - early!).K filled himself up on bread and goat cheese which I can totally appreciate. C ate like a champ and polished off a huge bowl of penne w/bolognese. Her cheeks were covered in sauce by the time she cried uncle. J was in heaven with a flavorful ciaopino and lasagna. We all rolled out of the restaurant.

The next day we woke up early to tour the Roman Baths. K was happy just walking in the rain with his umbrella so trying to bring him on the tour was definitely not the best decision we ever made. I sped through the baths, with K pretty much kicking and screaming the whole time, and eventually made it back outside. Does it ever feel like no one else's kids ever behave as badly as yours in public? K, the master of the pout.When C & J finished up, C couldn't wait to tell me about the water fountain where she "drank bath water". I'm pretty sure she didn't get the joke but J was pretty pleased with himself.

Since it was raining we had to skip Royal Victoria Park which is supposed to have a fantastic children's play area. But I'm guessing we'll get back to Bath again since it's an easy trip from London. The drive home was quite picturesque and I had to take a photo of the beautiful yellow mustard fields. This trip pretty much convinced J & I that we should buy a car. It's a lot of fun getting out into the countryside. Even stopping at the roadside services was an adventure. And I'm in love with the roundabouts. So much better than traffic lights.

Click Here to see more pictures from our trip to Bath & Stonehenge.