1. We all ran around and tried to find our train cart/seats before finally just sitting somewhere random on the train. 
2. Upon arriving in Bath I found out there is a Jane Austen museum and a Mary Shelley museum. A few of us promptly got tickets. 
3. While waiting for our ticket slots, we stumbled into a cute local coffee shop. That had loads of vegan and gluten free pastries, along with ice lollies (this what popsicles are called here). 
4. I ordered my first tea since being here, and it was piping hot and I burnt my tongue upon the first sip but it was a tropical fruit flavor and it was worth the burnt taste buds. 
5. The Mary Shelley museum was a fun and quirky experience, as they had a little haunted maze in the basement to cap off the tour. 
6. The Jane Austen museum was quite immersive, as the tour guide we had was “Elizabeth Bennet”. 
7. We ended the Jane Austen tour by dressing up in typical 1800 garb and posing with Mr. Darcy.
8. We toured the Roman Baths, which was a fun and an immersive experience. As we got to listen to the little walkie talkie phones, that led us through each exhibit. 
9. They told us we weren’t allowed to touch the real bath water, but I might have broken the rules. I also drank some of the spa water that was offered at the end of the tour, I was the only one that thought it tasted good. 
10. We ended the day by seeing The Curious Case of Benjamin Button The Musical, which is also how Rebel Wilson also ended her day. 10/10 experience and show!

The Ancient Roman Baths took us back to a time where going to a public bath was a luxury. That the population of Rome took pleasure in rooms with different water temperature and pressure, places to read and socialize, and to worship their gods. My favorite part of the Roman Baths was of course the spa aspects (I’m hoping all of the water I drank and touched will rejuvenate me for years to come) but also the old statues and involvement of the gods and goddesses within the Roman Culture. The head of Sulis Minerva was my favorite, as it was the most preserved and it has a very early discovery meaning that these baths were not only for relaxation but also for realignment and rejuvenation within their religion. The Minvera head is only one of two other fragments known. This head would have been within Minvera’s own temple beside the Sacred Spring, so that she could look over the Temple’s courtyard to the great altar. Sacrifices would have been made for and in front of Minvera.

Overall the city of Bath had an overall quantness that I enjoyed so much, and even though there was still the same amount of hustle and bustle in London as in Bath, there seemed to be a smaller feel to the city. It felt like stepping back into history and walking through a town that was built ages ago. There was so many parks, restaurants, museums, and experiences that I wanted to do and see in Bath that I didn’t have enough time to do, so I think that I will have to come back. I have a little list of things that I need to come back and see and do. 

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.  

Bath has been one of my favorite stops on our trip so far. The city is so beautiful and has a slower pace than London, so it made me feel at peace. My favorite thing we did was go sit at Parade Gardens. It was a pound to enter, but it was a beautiful park next to the river and we got to run around and take in the sun. We also wandered into a market that we saw by chance and found stalls full of unique clothing and knick-knacks. There was one full of the most colorful yarn, and as someone who crochets I was filled with so much excitement. We also went to a cafe and got the best pasta. There were funny jazz versions of pop songs playing and the energy was perfect.

Being at the Roman Baths was one of the first times I truly took in that I was standing in a place with thousands of years of history. Being able to touch different pieces of architecture from so long ago was profound. I think the thing that made it real for me was the smell. The ruins inside of the rooms we walked over smelled horrendous, but that helped me confirm just how old they are. I enjoyed getting to see the different offerings they had on display that people would give to their gods. I hated trying the water though. I was excited to try it since I found out it was an option, but when I did I definitely gagged on it and spit it out. If I was a Roman who had to drink that every day I wouldn’t make it.

The energy in Bath compared to London is a lot calmer. I could spend a lot of time hanging out in Bath and just enjoying being alive, compared to in London where I feel like I need to be going non-stop. I loved our trip and want to go back whenever I can.

Yesterday was a very full day! We got out to an early start, we left the hotel around 9:30 am and didn’t get home until 11:15 pm. We took a few tubes to get to Paddington train station and then we caught a train to Bath. We almost didn’t make it on the train due to our tubes running a bit slow so we had to race to catch our train to Bath, AND THEN, we couldn’t figure out what coach we were supposed to be in so we almost missed getting on the train! But everything worked out just fine!

Once we got to the city of Bath we were free to explore until 3:15 because we had an appointment to go in to Roman baths at 3:30, there were so many stores and restaurants there that it was kind of hard to pick a place to eat because I wanted everything! A group of us just settled for a doughnut and coffee. After that, Lily Bea and I ventured over to the Jane Austen house and did the tour. It was very interesting and I learned a lot about Jane Austen and her life. After the museum tour we still had a bit of time and so we just walked around the town and looked at all the architecture, I think it was really cool to see especially because of how long these buildings have been there.

Once we all met up at 3:15 we ventured into the Roman bath! They gave us devices so that we could learn about all the different sections at our own pace which I thought was very interesting and is a good idea if you wanted to move at a different pace than everyone else. It was very interesting to see what it was like back then and how people lived because living in this time it’s hard to imagine what it looked like and how they did things, but here you could actually see what it was like. I think that my favorite part was seeing the statues of the Romans that were surrounding the second floor of the bath when you were looking down. They said that they put them there just so that it would look more Roman, and I liked it when I was on the bottom floor looking up it added a nice touch so I wasn’t just looking up at the people on the top looking down at the water. When we got to the end of the tour there was water that was safe to drink, and so I went for it. Bad idea, it tasted like the smell of rotten eggs and sulfur and it was warm. After drinking it, I gaged and said “It tastes as bad as it smells” I will not be doing that again!

After the Bath tour we caught the train back to the city of London and some of us spontaneously decided to go see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, it was a great show! It made you feel all the emotions, and I loved how each actor played more than one instrument and more than one character during the show. I would highly recommend this show to anyone! The set and the use of set pieces was amazing, there were trap doors in the floor and the set pieces they used were just crates and were used for many purposes. I also loved the lighting and the sound effects I think they brought the show together very well. 

Overall, I really enjoyed our time at Bath, but I have seen it twice now once with my family a few years ago and then yesterday. I would recommend going to see it if you haven’t because I think that it is a good experience I just don’t think I need to see it again. The only advice I would give to any first timer is DON’T DRINK THE WATER AT THE END!!!! Or if you do make sure to have a backup drink with you.

Yesterday, our group had the opportunity to visit the Tate Modern Museum to enjoy the different galleries of modern art. Although, I must say, I did not particularly enjoy it. This is not to say that I think all modern art is bad. I found a few pieces of art that made me feel things as I walked throughout the museum. The most I felt throughout the museum was simply just confusion and frustration. Now, the modern art junkies might say that’s something–that it made me feel anything at all. However, I don’t know if I can constitute a work of art as good if it does not elevate my thinking or emotions and provide me with thoughtful clarity about the world’s problems. There was one work of art that was simply a white blank canvas with two white blobs of paint protruding from the surface. I just don’t understand how that says anything to a viewer. I shouldn’t have to read the artist’s long backstory to finally say to myself, “Okay, I get it now.” Even with the explanation next to the art, I still found myself completely lost on how the art correlated with its story. 

Despite all of this, I still tried to search for something in the museum that would move me, something I could connect with easily. I was able to find that with two particular works of art. The first piece of art that really moved me was a work of art called I am the curator of my own misery by Douglas Gordon. I think I love it so much because I am a writer; I identify with words. This piece of art is very simple and I think that is why I also like it. It doesn’t try to overcomplicate a universal feeling. I think that the fact that it isn’t over complicated is fitting because this artwork is specifically speaking on how we as humans overcomplicate our lives, thus creating misery for ourselves that wasn’t there before. We tend to create more problems for ourselves. Sometimes we see the glass half empty rather than half full, thus our lives appear to be more miserable to us. Because we tend to let our negative emotions take over, we create unnecessary negativity. I really liked the way the words were written in this artwork. It was made to appear as if it were written in blue ink. There are even blue ink pens that lay on the ground below the work of art. I really liked the inclusion of the pen because it serves a a reminder that we are the dictator of how are story is written, not our emotions. We are responsible for creating our own happiness. Happiness is not a state of being that is handed to us, but the harvesting of the good things that we ourselves have cultivated from once empty soil. Overall, I really liked this piece. 

Another work of art that I enjoyed was a large-scale sculptural installation called Babel by Cildo Meireles. This work of art takes the form of a circular tower made from hundreds of second-hand analogue radios that the artist has stacked in layers. The radios are tuned to a multitude of different stations and are adjusted to the minimum volume at which they are audible. Nevertheless, they compete with each other, and create a cacophony of low, continuous sound, resulting in inaccessible information, voices, or music. I really enjoyed this piece of art because I loved how it incorporated sound into art. It seemed as if all the voices and sounds coming from the radio speakers were trying to tell me something important, but nothing could be misunderstood. I felt that this piece spoke on miscommunication in the most well-communicated way possible. Unlike my experience with viewing other art works within the museum, this piece didn’t feel mistranslated despite the fact that its very theme is about misinterpretation. I also really enjoyed the visual effects of the piece. I loved the biblical allusion to the tower of babel. I loved how this sculpture stood over me so giantly and how the radio lights glowed in the dark. The darkness added to the feeling of perplexity, the same feeling one feels when lost in the night. Overall, this piece had a lot of depth and clarity that many art works in the building did not seem to have, at least not in my eyes. 

While I may not fit in with the modern world of art, I do however fit in with the historical art of appreciating Shakespeare. Two days prior to visiting the Tate Modern Museum, our group viewed the Shakespeare play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream in The Globe Theatre where William himself put on his famous plays. Walking into The Globe felt as if I were stepping inside of a time machine taking me back to the 1600s. A Midsummer Night’s Dream is about four young Athenians who run away to the forest only to have Puck the fairy make both the boys fall in love with the same girl. The four run throughout the forest pursuing each other while Puck assists his master by playing a trick on the fairy queen. In the end, Puck reverses his wrongs, and the two couples make peace and marry. By seeing A Midsummer Night’s Dream be performed rather than read, I was able to detect things in the script that I had not noticed before. I was able to see characters in ways that I didn’t really perceive as before. For example, I always perceived Puck as being comically mischievous. However, the actors and directors of this particular version really played into his mischievous side to a point that I actually found Puck to be quite creepy. I felt eerie everytime he made his way near our side of the stage. His movement felt so sly as he lurked around the stage.His costume was what also sold the creepiness. I could barely make out the face. The face was painted in camouflage and was covered in twigs and greenery that winded up to the top of his head. Twigs poked out everywhere from the top of his head. Not only was his costume creepy, but so was his high pitched voice and the way he simply delivered his lines. While I may not have enjoyed the modern museum, I really did enjoy the modern additions to this classic play. I loved the way the costumes were made to be more bright and vivid than that of the traditional wear that actors would have worn in Shakespeare’s time. I also enjoyed the modern twist of the music. Shakespeare would have had music in his performances with introductions of all the characters. He also traditionally included a jig at the end of his plays where all the characters dance together. I quite enjoyed the sound of the music. Trumpets and tubas were played loudly above the actors. I really enjoyed the jig especially because they added club background music to the trumpet sounds, making the play feel more up to date with its current audience. Speaking of the audience, my favorite part of the play was how the actors interacted with the crowd. The actors would sometimes make eye contact with the crowd. Once, the character Demetrius ordered an audience member to move out of his path as he angrily stormed off the stage. I really enjoyed how the actors did this, and it made me wonder how much or if at all this was done in Shakespeare’s time. There was one instance where one of the actors hyped the crowd up and we all started clapping and jumping as if we were in a mosh pit. Although I felt as if I might fall asleep in some parts of the first act due to the time it takes to warm up to the old Englisht, I felt more invested in the play because of how the characters included the audience. These past few days have shown me that bringing modern and traditional art together can either be a rollercoaster that only goes up or it can all go downhill. For me, Shakespeare was the rollercoaster and the Tate Modern Museum was… well it was a car with broken brakes. Despite this, both had positive aspects that I have chosen to appreciate. I don’t really understand a lot of the art in the Tate Modern Museum, but I choose to curate positivity from this rather than be the curator of my own misery.