Bath (Friday- Sunday)

We got to Bath from Stratford-upon-Avon around dinner time, and we all took some time to unpack and unwind before meeting up to go to dinner (about half the group).
We were split into two houses of the B&B this time, so we just organized things with our house mostly. We had heard about a restaurant that had live jazz music, so we set off to find it, and when we did, found that it was closed for a private event. We ended up at a pub right across the street...I'm getting really tired of pub food all the time, but it IS really cheap and it had wifi (we hadn't had internet all weekend, aka no communication with anyone outside our trip, and I definitely needed it...), so we settled. My veggie burger was verrryyyy unappetizing, so I ended up unsatisfied anyway. Oh well.

After dinner, we set off wandering around Bath again, trying to just get acquainted with the town and see where things were since it was beautiful weather and still so light out! Most of the group split off and went back to the house, but Amanda, Liz, and I kept wandering and eventually found a park by the riverside! We spent quite a while there, swinging and going down the slide and climbing this awesome rope/wood column climby thing. It was the best evening and so nice to just be outside and be in a green place after all the cities.

gorgeous Bath Riverside

We stopped at Sainsburys for some snacks, and went back to the house. I read (Dallas Willard's Hearing God) and journaled and such, and then a few people from my house were going out to a pub where most of the rest of the group was, so I decided to join.
 We walked to the pub and it was the first place where it was all people our age, definitely geared toward a younger audience. I wasn't interested in drinking or staying there really at all, so me and Mimi left to go back to the pub where we had gone for dinner so we could get wifi and talk to our boys for a little bit. Kyle was at work though and wasn't able to talk...so a bit of a disappointing evening over all.

Came back, and couldn't fall asleep right away so Amanda and I chatted a bit, and then most of the group came home (in all stages of sober/drunk) with one person missing and no idea where he was. Needless to say, we didn't get much sleep and I waited up for him while people went out in search of him, etc etc etc. Very dramatic and stressful evening overall with lots of chaos and such...not so fun. Amanda and I had a long talk after everyone was home and safe about just things we want to be working on in ourselves and things that have been challenging about being here this summer. I'm so thankful for her and for our accountability and support- it's the only little Christian community either of us has here and we really realized we need to be helping each other a LOT more in staying accountable. God's teaching me so so much through being here, and it's definitely growing me in a lot of ways that aren't always so easy.

I think I got a few hours of sleep at some point that night...not really sure.

Saturday morning, breakfast was at 8 and it was a full English breakfast (mine was veg- aka two fried eggs, baked beans, mushrooms, and half of a tomato). Ate the eggs and had toast and cereal...passed on the beans and such. Not a huge fan of the English breakfast!

The group was in a bit of a rough state overall after the evening beforehand, so it wasn't the most fun of mornings.

We had a bit longer to relax before we set off on our tour around 10:30- it was a walking tour around Bath and we saw a lot of Jane Austen-related things- the places she stayed, the places that inspired scenes in her novels, etc. Definitely need to read her books now and see what she writes about the places I've now been to!

Saw the Royal Crescent- a famous Bath sight where lots of people live and stay for a LOT of money.

Royal Crescent

other sights around Bath

We went by the Assembly Rooms (where the Fashion Museum is also located), and then past the Bath Abbey by Sally Lunn's (Famous restaurant for it's bath buns since the 17th century) and ended up at the Roman Baths before our tour ended!

Assembly Rooms

Bath Abbey

Sally Lunn's

Bath Abbey

outside of Roman Baths

Our tourguide left and we were on our own to explore the Roman Baths and then do whatever else we wanted for the day! We got audio guides but I was feeling kinda over them at this point and just browsed around the museum and exhibits and things briefly and then went out to the baths themselves to take pictures and look around. They're natural hot springs and have been used for centuries for healing purposes and such, so it was cool to see.

We drank water from the springs- hot and gross tasting...tastes like metal/blood/your mouth after a dentist visit...ew.

The group headed off almost all together to go to eat at the famous Sally Lunn's...but we got there and found that it was a super long wait before even just two of us could get in. Me, Amanda, Kelly, and Griffin left the group and found an adorable little cafe nearby and went there for lunch instead. Amanda and I split a pot of tea and I got the yummiest tomato basil soup with a cheddar and chutney sandwich...SO GOOD. Kelly got the afternoon tea, and it was just such a fun lunch. It was good to get away from the whole group for a while- we've been together nonstop a lot and it's definitely draining.

Griffin, Amanda and I went off in search of thrift stores after lunch and found a couple, but I didn't find anything worth buying. We had heard really good things about the Fashion Museum, so we decided to go see what it was all about. Nora met up with us there.

I'm obviously the next best fashion designer 

It was a little disappointing overall- not quite as incredible as I had heard. It was still cool to see fashions throughout the decades, and especially the European styles. The 2011 dress of the year by Alexander McQueen was there, and that was an incredible piece of fashion. We drew some designs of our own at a little coloring station, and then we decided to call it a day.

Went back to the house...here's what it looked like:

A group of about eight of us went out to dinner a little bit later to an awesome Thai place- such a nice change of pace. We went to a pub after and they all got cheap pitchers, but I didn't drink and just chatted with Kyle a bit and then we all came back to the house to crash! Read and journaled and such before bed.

Bath was definitely more interesting and offered more than Stratford did, but it was just a lot of group time all the time and not having any time to myself was really getting to me and putting a damper on my mood. We were leaving in the morning for Wilton House and Stonehenge and I was just getting VERY ready to be home.