Lots of walking today in Bath.  We started our day off with a full English breakfast at our hotel - way  more than we could eat!  Then it was off to the square to begin our 2+ hour walking tour with a guide.  It gave us a good overview of the history of Bath along with lots of stories about famous people of Bath.  We made it through most of the tour before the rains came.  Then we ducked into a Chocolate and Tea Cafe for some hot tea. We actually made it out of the place without buying chocolate.

Next was the Bath Abbey which was beautiful. We took the tower tour which took us up to the bell tower and then to the very top which provided a stunning view of Bath.  The vaulted fan ceiling in the Abbey was spectacular.  The;y also has display of artwork and mini tapestries on the life of Christ - it was amazing to say the least.

We had just enough time left to tour the Roman Baths.  After strolling through most of it on our own we joined a guided tour to learn more.  It's hard to describe the site - major excavationbs and renovations have taken place in the last 20 years and the visitor center/museum has all been added since my last visit in 1997.  Well worth the visit. 

Let's see if I can upload pictures again this evening.

The vaulted ceiling the the Bath Abbey.

The view from atop the Bath Abbey.

.

.

Jim at the Roman Baths.

.

The Roman Baths.

Tomorrow we are off to the Cotswolds.

We have arrived!  Just returned to our hotel for the evening after dinner at The West Gate, a pub here in Bath.  Jim decided to try a pint of spiked cider along with his fish and chips.

Yesterday's trip to airport went smoothly and security was a breeze - not the long lines we were expecting.  However, when we boarded the plane Jim suddenly realized he did not pick up his laptop!  Oops!  And, of course, once on the plane they will not let you off!  The flight attendants were able to get TSA's number for lost and found and today we confirmed they do have the laptop. Not sure if it's feasible to get it to where we are, so the blog may not be an everyday thing - will depend on whether the hotels where we stay have a computer for guest use.

We arrived at Heathrow on time (shortly before 7 am), cleared customs, etc, collected our baggage, then our rental car and were on the road to Bath by 9:30.  It's been rainy, foggy and little cool all day. But, we knew that's probably the way it would be. After we landed at our hotel we crashed for about two hours and then walked downtown to get our bearings of the city. Most shops close up at 5 so we'll hit those tomorrow along with a walking tour of Bath and then the Roman Baths and other sites.  We're hoping for an abbey tour and maybe even take in Evensong.

Attached are a few pictures we took in our drizzly weather this evening. As long as we are in Bath we will be posting.  Then we'll take it from there.

Downtown Bath along the River Avon.

Looking down the street.

.

Our bags are packed!  Hopefully we packed enough layers as we know some of the areas we'll be visiting will be on the cool side.

Susan will be picking us up between 3:15 and 3:30 this afternoon.  Off we go!
 

Getting Ready

We just returned from shopping for the trip.  What's shopping without Jim finding deals!

And Abby set us up with our blog

Posting a test picture.