Bath: Day 3

Yesterday, in a word, was perfect. Every so often, you have one of those moments that, even while still in the moment, you know it will stay with you forever.

Side note: I had written this yesterday but was unable to post until today. Thus the today/yesterday confusion. 

Today was quite a different pace from the day before. While I appreciate a good, structured tour, I also love days nearly completely unplanned. I knew I had to see three things: The Royal Crescent, the Circus, and the Jane Austen Centre. I had to leave my room by 10am so the dorms could be cleaned, so I left early and grabbed a bagel. I was afraid it was going to rain on me and considering I had no plans to take public transportation, I decided to eat my breakfast as I walked about 15 minutes to the other side of town.

The first stop: The Royal Crescent. What is the Royal Crescent? It’s a row of homes in a half moon shape, but more importantly it’s the setting for a very pivotal scene in my favorite Jane Austen novel, Persuasion. If you’ve seen the film, especially the 2007 version, you’ll recognize it immediately. I walked up a hill and as I saw the homes peaking through the trees, I immediately teared up. It was beautiful. It was both exactly what I had expected and somehow far surpassing what I could imagine. This may sound silly for essentially just a row of homes, but for me it’s like walking straight into your favorite movie, your favorite novel.

I had gotten there at the perfect time as there were very few people there. I didn’t go straight to taking pictures, I wanted to soak it all in. I wandered through the Crescent and through the park in front. I found a nice bench (with a hilarious dedication I might add) and put on my headphones.

I skipped ahead in my audiobook to my favorite part of Persuasion, and just…breathed.

You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope. Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious feelings are gone for ever. I offer myself to you again with a heart even more your own than when you almost broke it, eight years and a half ago. Dare not say that man forgets sooner than woman, that his love has an earlier death. I have loved none but you.

It was bliss.

When I felt it time, I decided to take my pictures and head to the Circus. The Circus really isn’t much more than a roundabout enclosed with more houses. Still, it was lovely. I then made my way back into town to the Jane Austen Centre. If you’re ever in Bath, please stop by here even if you’re not a Jane Austen fan.

There’s some good history of the city with a unique perspective. While Bath wasn’t Jane’s favorite place to be, it was obviously inspiring enough to influence two novels. I learned more about Jane and her family, but one thought kept popping up: how young she died. She was the seventh of eight children, and yet she died first. To think, what else could she have written had she lived longer? Persuasion was her last novel, and maybe somehow knowing her time was ending, she perhaps saved her sweetest (and best, in my opinion) love story for last?

After the Jane Austen Centre, I grabbed some lunch and then wandered down to the Roman baths. It would be kind of silly to go all this way and not visit the very site that gave the town its name. They were incredible and awe inspiring. I’ve been to Rome so I’ve seen great archeological sites like this before, but I had never seen a hot bath like this. There had been a temple dedicated to Minerva, or as the Greeks called her, Athena. It wasn’t until I learned this did I realize why I kept seeing owls all over town. Owls are closely associated with Minerva/Athena, so it seems the town adopted it as a symbol of Bath.

When I finished with the Roman baths, I realized I had finished everything I wanted to accomplish in the town.  Not to toot my own horn, but I think I did a pretty great job in organizing my time in Bath–I saw everything I wanted to see, and not once did I feel rushed. This is the beauty of traveling solo, you can do everything at your own pace.

It was a great time and I’m happy I went. The Austenite in me has been sufficiently satisfied. Well, for now.