Lulu and Kiki go to gay Bath

Bath, England, dates back to Roman times, when men were men and boys were afraid. Centuries later, pooftahs can still be found on every corner.



I highly recommend Bath as a side trip out of London, or even as a destination. British Rail gets you there from Paddington in about 90 minutes. Bath is about 25 miles from Stonehenge and a short distance to the Cotswolds. You might remember Bath as a setting in Jane Austen's Persuasion and Northanger Abbey. It is the site of healing hot springs and outstanding examples of Georgian and Palladian architecture. And a bun called a Sally Lunn originated there.

Because we had only 4 hours in Bath, we took the bus tour of the city, which is well worth it. Our tour guide looked like a drag queen and had some rather interesting tidbits. The late Princess Diana, it seems, used to sneak into Bath in "jeans and a jumper" to eat at Le Beaujolais restaurant.

Interesting linguistic trivia: The Celtic word for "river" was "avon." When marauding hordes came to Britain later and asked the locals what the river was called, they said "avon." This scene was played out all over the British Isles, and that's why there are so many place names with the word Avon. I imagine it was a little like Abbott & Costello's routine "Who's on First?"

Bath might be ancient, but it's certainly caught up with modern times by installing a Starbuck's.

At long last, here are the pics from our trip.