Charming Bath: Part 2

One of the most incredible things about Bath is...

It feels timeless
You want to step into the story of the past
To hear the sounds of horse & carriage upon the cobbled streets, as the gentle breeze carries the music from the assembly rooms as you approach for a ball.
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One of the buildings worth seeing, for free, is the Assembly Rooms 

A little info from Wikipedia
The Bath Assembly Rooms were designed by John Wood, the Younger in 1769. The New or Upper Assembly Rooms opened
with a grand ball in 1771 and became the hub of fashionable society,being frequented by Jane Austen and Charles Dickens, along with the nobility of the time.
Continue reading at Wikipedia
or check out
Bath Assembly Rooms website

(All my photos are taken by my iPhone)

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One of the things I have come to enjoy is discovering
coffee shops while wandering around new places.

Stepping away from the corporate vibes and enjoying a place with a little more character. As well as hopefully a coffee shop with ethical standards that care more about both quality of coffee and quality of those lives whom they purchase it from.
My friend Lisa spotted this coffee shop a few years ago on a day trip in Bath.
Colonna and Smalls
Simple and effective decor, filled with much warmth, helpful & friendly baristas and a great cup of coffee no matter what you order. I so enjoy stopping here while in Bath. 

After my coffee, my friend and I went in search of a
book shop to peruse books for an hour.
We stumbled upon this quaint local book shop.
 It just happened to be close to everything else we loved!
It was called Mr B's Emporium of Reading Delights
And delightful it was.

A clever way to display books...especially if your town is called Bath!



Two days in Bath were not nearly enough.
 My friend and I both wished we planned to stay a few more nights.

However, we did use our time well, seeing much and yet still enjoying the slow pace which meant including a nap in the park for my friend while I read... bliss, pure bliss!

We stayed at an incredible B&B.
A house that was over 240 years old.
It was a magical experience to wake to the first light of day spilling from the horizon upon the treetops and roofs below in the distance.




If you plan to visit England in the distant or not so distant future, I encourage you to make sure to include time in your schedule to wander down to a place where time has stood still and take in the beautiful sights of Charming Bath. 

Charming Bath: Part 1

The City of Bath 

One of my favourite places.

Not entirely because of the Jane Austen connection. =D

 Located in the southwest of England

This Charming City is set in rolling hills with incredible 18th Century Georgian Architecture.

By car or by train, this city is worth the journey.

  (All photos are taken with my iPhone)

Landsdown Road

Bath Abbey 

Bath Abbey

With the sun shining, the beautiful summers day showed off this charming city.

A friend from the USA visited England for the first time this summer.

It was a privilege to show her some of my beloved places.

We didn't want to leave after our one night stay.

In hindsight, we should have stayed a few days more.

For although it is a smaller city in comparison to London and the like, it's pace,

 it's history, hidden stores and cafe's draw you in.

You find yourself relaxed and simply enjoying the moment you find yourself in.

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We arrived by train and walked the incredible streets to our B&B.

After dropping our bags off we set out to find the quintessential English tradition.

Afternoon Tea

Anticipating this important experience for my friend, I researched and discovered a place called

Bea's Vintage Tea Rooms

It did not disappoint!

While we sipped the delicious loose leaf tea awaiting the arrival of our food, we found a shelf containing books. Many of great interest to me, it was hard to choose. We found ourselves perusing the pages with excitement as they held much information and history of this great city.

  

I could have easily sat there all afternoon!

We quickly laid our books to the side as our food arrived :)

Afternoon Tea for Two

It was delicious.
And combined with the atmosphere, a lovely experience!

A single step.

They say that a journey of thousand miles starts with a single step... or something to that effect.

Literally or figuratively there is much to be said about a single step.

Or the audible yes one must muster the courage to speak aloud. 

And thus begins my journey of a thousand miles.

Perhaps better yet, my adventure into the unknown.

When I find my feet upon the cobbled streets of old, I can't help but wonder what step in the past lead me to this moment now.

A single step.

A single yes.

The one that places my foot upon a road older than I can make sense of. 

And the step that follows the first. 

Now leading down the stairs towards the path along the river in another nation.

How is this my life?

That my eyes behold the beauty and timelessness of generations past. 

To feel the same sun upon my face that kisses the waves of the sea that is before me.

Surrounded by the sound of life and conversation. 

To not know of what they speak, but know they communicate things of importance to one another. 

These were the dreams that were a luxury to imagine.

‘Real' dreams were made up of the immediate that surrounded.

Education, career, engagement, marriage, children... 

The dream that everyone else seemed to find a reality.

Somehow those 'real' dreams didn't come true for me.

But secret dreams of my heart, the hopes hidden away for those rainy days when I allowed myself to imagine walking the distant shores of Europe…have suddenly become my reality.

I have been given the opportunity, through no ability of my own, to see so much of the world.

Beyond the pages of the books from my history classes I have stepped.

I could not have planned this journey had I have mapped it and planned it to perfection.

An imposter at times I feel.

As those who have dedicated years to the study of history and culture, appreciating things I have never learned about; whose eyes may never behold the very things they have learned and know well.

Yet mine have.

A single step.

A single yes.

This is my reality.

So here's to my adventure.

I hope you enjoy the view.

This blog will serve as a tribute to the places I have had the privilege of seeing and experiencing and the people I have met along the way. 

~Sheena ~