What’s up you weasels?? Hold on, sorry, let me begin again. Greetings, tiny rat-like mammals, and welcome to my blog! Today, our very refined group of students took a day-trip to Bath and visited the Roman Baths and the Pump Room. I, personally, am feeling much more sophisticated after partaking in afternoon tea at the Pump Room, much alike to my literary predecessors Jane Austen and Charles Dickens.
Okay, maybe not. Though I would like to clarify that that picture was taken on the way to Bath, not after, so perhaps I did become more refined. You’ll never know.
I like to keep a little bit of mystery in these posts, even if the whole point of your following me is to learn everything there is to know about me. It keeps the intrigue, you know? Regardless, I think I’ll actually tell you about my day now… Like I said, we went to Bath today! On the hour long train ride to the city I read Percy Jackson like a nerd and listened to Hozier, as any person would do on their way to the historical city of Bath. Immediately upon arrival, we found our way to the line for the Roman Baths, and after a little wait, we got to tour the building.
It was super interesting getting to see the original architecture, preserved as much as was possible, and still standing in the place where it has been excavated.
Something that I found especially interesting was the various myths of how it came to be, which I actually did not encounter until we were already out of the Baths themselves, and were waiting to take tea in the Pump Room. In the anteroom, there was a plaque describing the two myths of Bladud, a British prince who was educated in Athens. I didn’t get a picture of this, but did have a lengthy conversation about it with Ben and Shawn.
The first myth was the more believable of the two, oddly enough. The premise was that Bladud was the heir to the throne, but was exiled due to his leprosy and became a swineherd instead. One day, when tending to his pigs, he noticed that those who bathed in a specific spring were devoid of scabbing and illness. He bathed in those springs as well, was cured of his leprosy, and went on to become King after all. The second was that Bladud traveled to Athens for his education, and there he learned magic, which he then used to vest the Bath baths in magical power that allowed it to heal, as the Romans believed it did. I obviously do not believe either of these things to be true, but I personally find the mythology that people use to justify their beliefs to be so wonderfully intriguing.
Overall, I really did enjoy our trip to Bath. Similarly to London, I found that everywhere I went there were fun stores to window shop in, as well as a lot of cultural centers to explore. The unity of the city was something I really did not expect, coming from London, which is an amalgamation of architectural styles. As a student of art, I really appreciated getting to see the differences between London’s architecture and that of Bath.
Next up on my life’s story: Much Ado About Nothing at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. I’ll give you a spoiler: this show was probably the best we’ve seen so far. I’m more than excited to write about it; I am absolutely ecstatic.
I’ll see you then!
CW
Theatre in London U of A 