Day twelve we left Santander, Spain for London, England. After the flight, we took the bus to the Tube station. The Tube trip was not something I’d like to do again. I like a bubble around me and I found out you can’t keep that bubble intact in a large city. There were too many people and maybe one out of 10 spoke with an English accent. We checked in to our hotel and discovered we were in a basement room.

After checking in we took a hop-on hop-off bus around London to see all the historical places we’d heard of or seen in books or movies. The ride would have been boring if the guide hadn’t been entertaining. My granddaughter thought he was funny. Which he was. He’d call out to people walking on the street and make comments about how people were dressed as well as tell the history of buildings and areas.

After the bus ride, we returned to our basement hotel room. It was an experience.

The next day was interesting! We took our time getting up, eating breakfast in the hotel, and slowly made our way to the bus depot, purchasing snacks for our lunch on the bus ride to Bath. We arrived at the station and saw a bus leaving for Bath half and hour before our scheduled bus and thought it was our bus. It turned out it wasn’t. We spent another 2 hours in the bus station waiting for our bus as it was running late.

We spotted tables and chairs and thought it was a communal eating area. We pulled out the food we’d purchased and had it half eaten when we were told we couldn’t eat food that hadn’t been purchased from the store next to the tables. Picking up our food, we moved to the seats in the waiting area.

The bus to Bath finally arrived. We waited and waited and they finally loaded us. The bus went around the block with a buzzer going off and the driver took us back to the station. They unloaded us and our luggage as they waited for another bus to arrive. When that bus showed up we were loaded and not 15 minutes into the ride, I received a message from Airbnb that the place I’d rented had damage from a storm and the roof fell in. Lucky for us Airbnb reached out when they heard of the cancellation and gave me some options of places that were similar in price to the one I’d booked. I picked one and they accepted us. It turned out the place I picked was quiet and closer to the area where we planned to explore.

Bath

Our first day in Bath, we started with a tour of the Roman Baths. The history was interesting going back to 600. The change of countrymen and religions through the ages intrigued me. learning how so many buildings were built on top of the others fascinated me. Also, they came to excavate the original ruins of the baths. It is a unique historical site.

After the tour we had a British lunch of fish and chips. It was good!

After the meal, we strolled through the shops until time for the free walking tour around town which is sponsored by the Mayor of Bath. They split the group down the middle so I ended up in a group by myself and the girls were together.

The tour took us to all the major historical places with a running dialog from our guide. I liked the fact the architect and major industrialists used a theme throughout the building of the town. Being separated from the girls let my mind wander and not worry whether they were having a good time or needed something. During this walk we were soaked. I thought I’d brought a raincoat with me but my shoulders and back were soaked and my pants were wet. The paper sack I’d been carrying the things I’d purchased in, disintegrated during the walk and I had to tuck my purse under my jacket even though it wasn’t protecting all of me. I placed the small items I’d purchased in my purse and shoved the shirt I bought up under the shirt I was wearing and tucked the bottom into my pants so it wouldn’t fall out. I look odd with lumps all over my torso but I kept my purchases moderately dry.

Because of the rain, we hadn’t taken all the photos we wanted, so the next day we walked to the buildings we’d learned about the day before and took photos. As we walked and talked, we realized the two guides told different versions of the history. 

After re-walking the tour route, we checked in at the Therme Spa to see if there was a chance I could get a massage and the girls wanted to go in the water. We were able to book a time in the afternoon. From there I went to a store and purchased a good raincoat. I didn’t want to be wet again on the trip.

We made it into the Bath Abbey in time to take a tour. Again, it was interesting to hear all the history about the Abbey. In Europe their history goes back so much farther than United States history. It’s kind of mind boggling. From the Abbey, we strolled across the street and had a traditional hand pie for lunch.

The day before on the tour, my guide had pointed out a bridge that was made to look like a continuation of the street with business along it so people wouldn’t know they were leaving one part of town and going to another, or so my guide said. We headed to that bridge after we ate.

Back at the spa, the girls went off to enjoy the rooftop pool and other amenities while I had a massage. When I came out of my massage, they were waiting for me to show me all the fun things they discovered and take me to the rooftop pool. It was a fun relaxing afternoon. From the spa, we went to the train station to check in and get our tickets for the next day. We timed ourselves walking back to where we were staying so we knew when we’d need to set out for the train in the morning. The next day we were headed to Scotland.