Going to Bath was the escape I needed. I am a simple southern girl that needs some grass, water, and fruit and I’ll have the best day ever, so entering this beautiful town outside of London was so calming for me. The train ride over seeing all the suburbs and then entering the countryside with farms lining the railroad made my heart so full. The wavy tall grass in the wind was insanely beautiful to watch as we shuttled across the plains. When we finally got to Bath, we first went to the Parade Gardens near the River Avon and immediately Alyssa and I let our dogs (translation: toes) out in the grass. We saw our first green and blue waters of England yayyy! Haha, sorry River Thames but you were exceeded by the beautiful waters of Bath.
In the actual Bathhouses of the Ancient Romans, I was reminded of how advanced their civilization was in its time. Seeing the different cool and hot spring pools that were fixtured to match the necessity of the particular location was ridiculously cool. Now I know how to make a hot tub. You just need a hot spring and some stacks of brick and rock to keep the pool heated. Thank you to the Romans. (I believe that may be the first time anyone has thanked them, HA!)
But in all seriousness, I was impressed by this ancient country clubhouse. The Roman people enjoyed their privileges and enjoyed making places in which they could worship Minerva and relax in a hot pool. I particularly enjoyed the longevity of this bathhouse. I do not believe I can even fathom that the rock and stone I was walking on was 2,000 years old. They sure knew how to make things last. I respect them immensely for that. Although they were a society that reveled in destruction and becoming the largest empire in the world, I do appreciate their want to make sure their name was remembered and doing so in the ways they knew how. With invention. Their gods, albeit real or not, drove these men and women to greatness. Their fear and loyalty to their gods I believe is what made them great. A man is only great if he has something to live for. If he has passion that keeps his feet on the ground and a wish to move forward in history, I do not see how anything, but success can come from that kind of strength. Believing in something and believing in something that is greater than you gives mankind a part of that godly strength. The Romans wanted to please their gods and their rulers, and I find that without a need to do, most people do not do. And for the Romans, at any time an unexpected curse could come down from the heavens and that pushed them to be great. That pushed them to do and be pioneers in the ancient world.
These baths are just a small idea of how great this society really was. I know a pool is not so astonishing to us now, but for these men I wonder how it felt to manipulate water and be the keeper of a natural spring that their hands bended to their own will. Bath gave me hope in an odd way. Hope that good things do come from bad people. That bad people are not all bad, but there are always redeeming qualities to a person or a people group. My final score for our day in Bath: 9.5/10. My trip there was beautiful and my adventure to Kennington to see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was so worth it. My most favorite show I have seen this entire trip. And Rebel Wilson was in the audience whaaaaat?? My only deduction of -.5 is for my day starting at 7:58a.m. and ending at 12:35a.m. I was a tired puppy.
Theatre in London U of A 
I loved Bath too, mostly for the literary history of the police. So I’m glad to be reminded of how cool the engineering of the baths was.
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