Part 2: The Roman Baths
The next morning I got up early and got dressed into the outfit I'd been dying to wear since I planned this trip. I was to be transformed into my Solsburian in Black persona! It consisted of jeans, white button-up blouse with collar, my favorite mocha-colored vest which had coffee paraphanalia designs embroidered into it, full-length black raincoat, and black fedora, and black boots. I looked into the mirror pleased. I looked exactly like Peter Gabriel did in the "Lovetown" video and in Eve. That is, if Gabriel wore a slightly different style coat, different style hat, and was short, blonde, and female. (2)
I left the coat and hat in the room while we went downstairs to get breakfast in the dining room. It was a nice place...airy, with large windows looking out into the garden, and lots of light in the room. More importantly, there was lots of coffee. A rather nice breakfast was brought to us. I wasn't used to eating baked beans for breakfast, but hey, it worked for me (3).
Some other guests struck up a conversation with Angel, who saw her Canadian flag patch on her jacket and assumed she was from Canada. We asked them what they thought we should see in Bath, and they suggested the Roman Baths, which was one of places we already had in mind to visit.
While we were eating, it started to get overcast and began to sprinkle. Angel was starting to fret about the weather, but I was happy. I'd have a legitimate excuse to wear my raincoat and water-repellant fedora! However, Angel said we should hold off visiting Real World Studios and Solsbury Hill until after visiting the Roman Baths, and hope that the rain cleared up.
We asked Sandra if she found anything about the location of Solsbury Hill. She said she thought it was near Box village, but couldn't get any more specific than that. After breakfast, I grabbed my coat and hat got ready for our day out. I discovered that I couldn't fit all of my stuff into the small bag I brought, so I asked if I could use one of Angel's roomier bags. Angel seemed puzzled, "What are you planning on taking?" I told her I needed to bring my wallet, journal book, Gabesaber pen, and er, two other fedoras, identical to the one I was already wearing. I'll never forget the look the look on Angel's face when I tried to explain that to her...
Let me back up here...I've discovered I'm not the only one with a "Lovetown" style coat and hat fetish. My dear friend Kari got her husband Joe a black raincoat, in part because it reminded her of you-know-who. To surprise Kari, Joe got himself a black fedora to complete the outfit. She loved it. So Joe got Kari her own fedora. When I told them I was going to England, I asked if I could borrow one of their hats to complete my outfit. Kari said they wanted me to take both. Why? Because they knew I was going to Solsbury Hill, and wanted both of their hats "blessed" by the Solsburian goodness that is Solsbury Hill. It seemed an odd request, but it knew it would make them happy, so how could I say no? Then they surprised me by giving me my own hat, which you can see here, and I couldn't leave that behind. So that's how I got stuck taking three fedoras on my pilgrimage to Real World Studios and Solsbury Hill.
The cathedral right outside of the Roman Baths
If the Church of Peter Gabriel were to build a cathedral, this is what it would look like.
Angel argued with me, saying that I should not take them and just say that I did, but I explained that I meant what I said and I said what I meant, and a Solsburian's word is one hundred percent. And that ended that conversation. Afterwards, we headed out to catch a bus to the center of town.
Angel and I walked a block to get to the Bath cathedral and the Roman Baths, where we got tickets for the for the museum. They gave us these gigantic remote control-looking things, and Angel explained to me how they worked. You go to a display where there are numbers posted. Punch in the numbers, and hold up the speaker of the remote control in your ear, and a recording tells you about the display. You can choose how much detail you want to know, skip over parts, or replay sections. I've heard about museums using these things, but I've never seen it implemented before. It's a great idea...you get to take your time and set your own pace as you walk through the museum, choose whatever order you want to see the displays, and you can't have your trip ruined by a tour guide who is having a bad day.
The Baths are amazing in that they were built centuries ago by Romans, and yet everything still works. It wasn't just a building with a hot spring pool in it. It also had "tepid" pools, warm pools, a steam room, a room with a cold water pool, and other amenities that still work.
Besides swimming and bathing, the Romans used to make offerings to the gods at the pool. One would often write a "curse" on a flat piece of copper, usually aimed at someone who had done them wrong, and throw the copper with curse into the pool. (4)
We finally made our way to the main part of the baths, a large pool surrounded by arches and columns, and with an upper platform adorned several Roman statues. Angel and I got up close to the pool and touched the water. Yeah, it's nice and warm.
"Would you like to go for a swim, Angel?" Mac said, seconds before shoving her into the pool! Muahahahaha!
While walking around on the upper platform, I could see the Bath cathedral, as well as a visitor information center. Mabye they would know more about the whereabouts of Solsbury Hill, I thought.
After spending a few hours at the museum, we went to the information center. I asked the woman at the information desk if she knew where Solsbury Hill was. She seemed to know what I was talking about, and tried to draw a map. However, she said that it wasn't near Box. She said it was near Batheaston, but she couldn't give any details such as what landmarks or roads are nearby, or where there were any footpaths leading to the summit. Somewhat confused, we decided to check out Real World Studios and worry about the Hill later.
(2) Speaking of my blonde hair, I had it styled and cut dramastically different a few weeks before my trip. At first I hated the new look, but then it "grew out" enough so that I liked it, and now I love it. However, at my Day Job, I see a hundred people a day, and members and employees alike freaked out when they saw my new look, and would squeal about it for minutes on end. It was weird having dozens of total strangers make odd comments about my new hairstyle. I don't think many people can relate to an experience like that. (back)
(3) Before my trip, I talked to an e-friend in England named Kathy, who also has a sweet cat named Moxie. Anyway, I was secretly worried about the stereotypical bad English cuisine. My fears were somewhat heightened when I told Kathy that my B&B came with a "full English breakfast". Kathy assured me that I would love the full English breakfast, "Although, it's no Denny's." Denny's as a measuing stick for cuisine? *Sigh.*(back)
(4) At this point, I grabbed a piece of copper and chisel that I always have handy, and wrote curses directed at Phil Collins, bin Laden, and the @$$holes who webjacked my domain name.(back)