The last couple days have been difficult for us. Colleen took a turn for the worse on Wednesday, as her illness kicked into overdrive. Luckily, we were able to get a cabin for the three-and-a-half-hour journey across the Irish Sea. That gave her the opportunity to get some sleep, but she was still hurting when we landed in Wales. Over the course of the next five hours, we made our way across Wales and into Bath, England. We finally made it to our hotel, and Colleen collapsed into the bed.
We awoke yesterday, and Colleen was determined to see some of Bath before we move on. So we headed out toward the town, arriving at the Roman Baths after a 10-minute walk. The Romans used the town as a recreational center for their occupation of Britain and built some magnificent baths over and around a natural hot spring. The water still runs through the rebuilt baths, although no one is allowed to get in and enjoy the warmth.
The Roman Baths exhibition was one of the highlights of this trip. Much of the ancient complex�s foundations are still extant, meaning that it is very easy to walk around the place and, with the help of the excellent audio guides provided with the entrance fee, understand the layout of the area. We spent a full three hours looking around, with Colleen getting worse every minute. We finished our tour by tasting the water from the spa at the Pump Room restaurant. For millennia, people have touted the healing powers of the water, so I drank two full glasses to help ward off Colleen�s illness. She couldn�t stomach the stuff.
After the baths, Colleen was done. She headed back to the hotel to try and get some rest. I took the opportunity to tour the Bath Abbey, a church built next to the Roman Baths and on the site of a Saxon church. The architecture was magnificent. That�s one thing I always notice when coming to Europe. The churches here are far more outstanding than those I have seen in the States. Mostly built during the fanatical days of the Middle Ages, the churches sought to amaze as well as teach. With huge, open spaces, the architects hoped to impress upon the visitor and the faithful a sense of the grandeur of God. Of course, all those beliefs were rejected during the Protestant Reformation as missing the point of religious devotion. The descendants of the Protestant faith were the original European settlers in the US, so their ideals led them to build stark and empty churches with no religious propaganda. But I can�t help but be swept away whenever I visit these incredible testaments to the power of faith.
Anyway, after seeing the abbey, I spent the rest of the afternoon walking around the city. I wandered and wandered, just enjoying the first day in weeks that I haven�t had to wear a sweater. If any of you ever come to England, don�t miss Bath. It is one of the great towns of the country. Being small, it is easy to walk around the majority of the old city in an afternoon.
So here it is, Friday morning. We have just gotten up and are deciding between making our way to Canterbury (the original plan) and spending another day in Bath to help Colleen feel better. We�ll see what happens.
Paul and Colleen
Back to home page