Becoming Jane

Whew, what a whirlwind week! (<--- bonus acting exercise, w's voiced and un-voiced)

This past week, (September 11-17th), I spent time away from Loughton traveling with my German sister Hannah and my new friend Nadia. I met them in Bristol, from there we went to Bath and then to London where we rented an apartment in Shoreditch. Everywhere I have been in the UK has beautiful streets, street art, cathedrals, and food. Toss in the ever changing weather, which is also illustrated in these photos, sleep rinse and repeat. Here I have compiled some of my favorites from my adventures this week Part 1: Bristol, Bath. Part 2, which is soon to follow, will include our adventures in London. Enjoy

This post is best enjoyed while listening to the Pride and Prejudice soundtrack, (click the link for optimal enjoyment).

Bristol

I traveled to Bristol by on Megabus. It was a 3 hour ride, and i'll be honest I slept through most of it. but I did manage to snap this picture of the country side coming in. So green!

Streets

Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol opened in 1859 it is 150 years old. It stands 245 above the 245ft Avon Gorge.

View of a Bristol street from Clifton Bridge

View from Clifton Bridge. Bristols economy has been shaped by this water way for 1 thousand years. It has been a trade and industrial center as well as well as an important Navel post in the Anglo-Spanish war of 1585.

Georgian street in Bristol.

Bristol

Bristol thoroughfare leading to the Willis Tower, a Gothic structure. 

Street near the apartment we rented. It was a colorful ethnic neighborhood with lost of Ethiopian food. We stayed with a lovely lady named Maggie.

Bristol Street as seen from the train.

Going to Bath has been on my bucket list since I saw a Rick Steves PBS special as a girl. It was all I expected an more! I kept expected Darcy, Elizabeth and Jane Austen her self to stroll down the lane. The Romantic regency remains alive and well here in the city of Bath.

This is the fames Royal Crescent, a master piece of Georgian architecture. Bath was a very socially popular place to be particularly during the regency era (1811-1830 "mad King George III surrendered rule to his son George IV who became the Prince regent until his father's death).  The Royal Crescent was a place the famous and rich of the time went to see and be seen, the Royal Crescent was designed with that in mind. Jane Austen writes about the royal Crescent, and Bath, in her novels Northanger Abby and Persuasion (my personal favorite).  The feminist education movement known as the Bluestocking society also met here.

Pulteney Bridge crossing the Avon River. One of only 4 bridges with shops that cross the full length of the bridge on both sides.  Built in 1770 it was inspired by Florence and Venice.  There is really no way to capture just how quaint this town really is. Just trust me, if you were going to die of charm, it would happen here.

Beautiful Gardens adjacent to the bridge and water way.

Bath alley.

Gay Street, Bath.

The Circus. Similar in style to the Royal Crescent, except the Circus makes a complete circle as the name suggests. We walked everywhere this day and it was totally worth it! As we walked to the Circus there was a couple, she in a wedding dress and he in tails, posing for photos. The whole thing was un-real.  Jane Austen lived in Bath and is said to have attended balls in the upper rooms here. Bath is also where Jane Austen received her only known proposal for marriage, which she obviously turned down.  I think Jane would have had a few things to say about our wedding couple, I guess people still come here to make a scene.

Festive street in Bath.

 Bath.

 Street Art

Bristol is home to famed street artist and political activists, Banksy. He uses a stencil graffiti technique. 

Banksy in Bristol near our apartment.

Banksy. Bristol.

Prince Edward II statue, Queens Square Bristol. When we couldn't decide where to go, we happened upon this statue, chatted him up a bit and his "bludgeon" to direct us to our next destination.

Bristol.

Statue at the Roman Baths in Bath.

Cathedrals

The layers of old and new are grittier in Bristol than in London. The punk movement of the 70's and 80's are prevalent in the architecture, art, food, music and fashion. There are also floating bars and pubs all along the water way each with it's own micro brewery and "cidery".   

Bristol Cathedral 

Bristol Cathedral built in 1140, also typically Gothic. 

St Mary Redcliffe a 15th century church in Bristol. Tallest English Perish church in England at 259 ft high.

We traveled to Bath via train Pictured above is the Bristol train station. From the outside it looks like a cathedral, (I unfortunately never got a picture of the outside because we were caught in a torrential down pour).

I LOVE this photo because it is a picture of an ancient Roman Temple (60AD) and a Bath Abbey (1499). Two forms of worship, unwittingly built on top of each-other, and architecturally married in unexpected ways. I felt the same way when I visited India, the marriage of Catholicism and Hinduism was beautiful and unexpected. The Roman baths, though built long ago were lost over time and only recently rediscovered about 300 years ago. 

This is the most sacred of the roman pools dedicated to the goddess Sulis Minerva, which is a conglomeration of the Roman goddess Minerva (Athena in Greek) and the local Celtic goddess Sulis. When the Romans arrived in ancient Bath, the Celts had already set the area aside as a holy place. The goddess Sulis reminded the Romans of Minerva so they agreed to agree and built a temple of ritual bathing and worship. This pool is the hottest (147 F/ 64 C) and the source of water for all the other pools. No one was allowed to swim in this most sacred of pools, but several tons of ancient currency was removed form the bottom of the pool along with curses written on led sheets.

Ok, don't even get me started on the plumbing and irrigation in this place, needless to say the Romans were geniuses. I wish I had better pictures of the interconnected led plumbing, IT IS STILL IN TACT! The baths were paved so tightly that even now there is virtually no seepage of water in any of the remaining baths! The way the water passed from the source spring under the tiles of the rooms and from pool to pool and on to the river Avon is pure brilliance. The things I saw here were the oldest things I have ever set eyes on in my while life and they were still functional. It just blows my mind!

The great bath, or main pool. And no you cannot swim in it, but you can drink the water in the pump room. The water in the pump room was said to have curative powers and has been drunk over the centuries by many, including me. It is yet another reason Bath became popular during the regency era. And yes, it tasted horrible.

Bath Abby and Temple of Sulis Minerva.

Bath Abby began as a monastery in AD 757. (The Roman baths were  constructed in 70 AD a separation of only 700 years. If that doesn't blow your mind...) It was later a more primitive Norman Cathedral in 1088 and in 1488 the Cathedral you see here was constructed.

Yet another amazing architectural feat!

Mary washes the feet of Jesus.

Bath Fashion Museum 50 dresses

So we lucked out, this year the fashion museum in Bath was celebrating 50 years with an exhibit entitled Fifty Fabulous Frocks. And they were fabulous indeed! Each a definitive moment in history, and so pretty! Bath has been a fashion center for centuries. The british tradition of portraiture also has a rich tradition here. Now a days we facebook and blog about the fabulous places we visit, in a effort to be seen (guilty). Back in the day people had their portrait taken. We also visited the Bath Art museum, which I decided to call, "Regency facebook" 

1700's

Modern era

They even had dress up!

18th Century Assembly Rooms above the Museum, home to many Balls and society events. Austen would have been a frequent visitor here. The BBC was filming while we were here, no big deal.


Most of these photos were taken from my iphone but this week some photo credit also goes to Nadia and Hannah :)