Bath: A Tour of Flirtation

Today in my Austen class we took a tour of flirtation around the city, and discussed courtship in Georgian Bath. Some of you are probably chuckling at how frilly that sounds, but it was actually quite interesting!

First we went to the Pump Rooms, which was where the Georgians went for tea, people watching, and socializing. The Pump Rooms are still a tea room to this day, which hopefully I will get to experience before I leave Bath....minus the prowling ;-)

After the Pump Rooms we walked by the Royal Mineral Water Hospital. Bath was a place of healing in Georgian times, and the waters were thought to have such wonderful qualities that they build a whole hospital around them!

Next we walked up the hill to the Upper Rooms, which is where many scenes from Northanger Abbey take place. If you are familiar with the novel, it is where Catherine meets Mr. Tilney, and has her first debut in Bath. The Upper Rooms were the place to come to dance, meet young men, play cards, drink tea, gossip, and flirt! Basically just a regency version of a modern day club with a very large age range.

The Pump Rooms were followed by the Circus, which is one of the signature places in Bath. Designed by John Wood, Sr., and finished by his son, the architecture of the Circus is heavily influenced by both Roman grandeur and Bath's pagan roots. Supposedly the first king of England was born with a terrible and disfiguring skin condition. His father deemed him unfit to rule because of it and disinherited him and sent him off to be a pig-herder. One day he was out with his pigs and they discovered a mud hole while in pursuit of acorns, and began rolling in it, as pigs are wont to do. He noticed that the mud and water seemed to improve any skin problems they had so he went out on a whim and tried it on his own skin. Lo and behold, the mud and water from the hot springs below began to heal his skin! He returned to his father, who was overjoyed, and he eventually took the throne and founded the city of Bath around the hot springs he found there. The acorns seen at the base of the roof on the buildings of the crescent are meant to signify the pigs of the King, and the subsequent founding of the city!

                                                                                           The Circus

After the Circus we hit the Royal Crescent, a place which has come to define Bath, and was also designed by John Wood. The lawns there are beautiful, and look right down on the Victoria Gardens, which is a beautiful park. We walked from the Royal Crescent down a small path through the gardens where Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth walk in Persuasion, and where I am sure many a real life couple flirted and, in modern day language, "DTR-ed." There was a little Georgian garden off the path which we check out as well. The people who own in it have faithfully kept it in the Georgian tradition, which is characterized by more muted and natural colors (the Georgian didn't have bright exotic transplants yet), and contained wildness.

                                                                                   The Royal Crescent

If you are familiar with Austen then you know that her novels do contain many flirtations. Back then, women were meant to be charming and engaging, yet never too funny. It was very unladylike to see a man without any chaperones, and so flirting was hard to pull off with constant supervision. That being said, it could be done behind a fan in a crowded room such as the Upper Rooms, or while hanging back from a walking group. Places like the garden we saw were very helpful arenas for flirtation because a couple could be relatively alone, and yet in full view of a drawing room window. Even at a time when most marriages were semi-arranged or out of convenience, flirting was still exciting, and in a place like Bath, where people came simple to see and be seen, it was quite rampant.

                                              One of the houses Jane lived in while in Bath, in Queens Square

We ended our tour at the Royal Theatre, which is now a Mason house. We were content to just see the outside, but a sweet man invited us in for a quick look around, and for free! The theatre is still very much intact, they have just taken down the boxes to convert it into a meeting room. Super cool! This was where Catherine looked across to catch Tilney's eye, and he slighted her. Hard to get...oldest trick in the book.

After my classes, my friend Ali and I headed back to the crescent to read and enjoy the evening sun, as it was pretty drizzly earlier during our tour. It seemed everyone was out walking their amazing dogs (seriously, I have never seen such a range of breeds as I have here), and we spotted this guy. How handsome is he?!

Love,

Em

Bath: A Truly English England

                                                               A Truly English England
 

            When I was in London last week, before coming to Bath, an English friend remarked to my fiancé and I, “ You Americans are such suckers for anything old.” I laughed a bit, but am not ashamed to admit that statement is entirely true for me.  I have been an anglophile my whole life, have always felt drawn to anything British, and have steeped myself in British literature.  Perhaps that has something to do with the fact that aside from the 1/8th of my blood which is Italian, the rest of me is entirely Anglo-Saxon—a mix and mash of English, Scottish, Welsh, and Irish heritage.

            My ancestors go back generations, and have lived in many different parts of this country. There is an inbred depth of legacy here for me, mirrored by the depth of history that comes along with that. I love the states, I am very proud to be American, but before America there was England, and Scotland, Ireland and Wales. As we all know, history is incredibly important in informing us about the current state and condition of a place. Therefore just as our great country, America, is informed by the history of the UK, (whether or not we want to admit it), I as well am personally informed about myself and my heritage by exploring the history of this place.

            This is not my first long stay in the UK, in fact I spent my freshman year at the University of St. Andrews, in Scotland. It was all at once a rich, complicated, and wonderful experience. Because of that time, my trip to Bath so far has not been surprising in the way that it may have been for other people. That being said, the Scottish part of me is nudging me to make note that Scotland is different than England. Still very romantic, but in a darker way-- not quite as light-hearted as England.  Beautiful in it’s starkness, and jubilant in it’s summer green.

            Bath has delighted me in that it is so very English. It is surrounded by rolling green hills, full of delightful local pubs, the people are kind, they drink tea, and it is characterized by the layers of history to be found here. The Abbey has been a house of worship for over a thousand years, since before the Norman invasion of England. The countryside around the city, especially the Cotswalds, (Bath is the southern tip of the Cotswalds), is obviously the type of countryside which Tolkien was inspired by when he created the Shire. The town has been heavily influenced by the Romans, Georgians, Victorians, and modern day Brits. You could spend weeks here just exploring Bath through the centuries.

            It has been my experience this country that you must get out of London in order to truly experience England. This is not true for every city and country, in fact Edinburgh is decidedly Scottish. London is wonderful and fascinating, but it is not purely English anymore in the way that Yorkshire, Harrogate, Somerset, and Bath are. Bath is all at once the England of my imagination, the England of story, and the real England.  A bit corny, I know, but you will have to excuse me…I’m such a sucker for anything old.

-Emily

This post is actually the first of 6 journal entries for my fantasy class. I may share a few more if I feel like it, but I just thought this might be helpful in understanding a bit more about my affinity for England and my excitement about this trip. 

Bath: First Day of School!

"Fantasy remains a human right: we make in our measure and in our derivative mode, because we are made: and not only made, but made in the image and likeness of a Maker."

J.R.R. Tolkien, On Fairy-Stories

While J.R. Richey was catching wild brown trout Ireland, I was over here in Bath having my first day of classes. Yesterday was a pretty boring day, standard orientation, so I was super excited to dive into my courses.

Bath Abbey

I am taking two courses here in Bath, one on Jane Austen (who lived here for at time), and one on Anglo-American Fantasy, focusing on Tolkien and Lewis. I came here specifically for the latter course, I felt I couldn't pass it up, but I am pumped to revisit Jane as well. LOVE her!

I started out the morning with my Austen class at 9:30. My tutor (Brit for teacher/prof) seems fantastic, she is about to start a fellowship at Christ Church at Oxford. She has been teaching at Oxford for a while, but she has been coming to ASE in the summer to teach this course for a few years.  She is young and bright, and also quite brilliant I think, as she already has her PhD. Very excited to look at Jane with her. We are starting with Northanger Abbey, moving onto

Pride and Prejudice, followed by Emma, and then Persuasion. 

Bath features prominently in both Northanger Abbey, and Persuasion,  and it is so neat to be able to recognize some of the places that she mentions, such as the pumprooms, and Milsom St, which I have walked along every day!

At 2:30 I had Tolkien class, which was great. As some people may know, both Tolkien and Lewis were great men of faith,  which is very evident in their writing. It would be, in my opinion, an incomplete reading not to address this when studying their work, but many people gloss over it, especially when studying Middle-Earth. (Lewis's allegory in Narnia is so wonderfully overt that it is hard to ignore.) I was unsure how this was going to be treated in this course, and so was very pleased when my professor decided to tackle this head on by asking us each to share a little bit about our religious background and what we believe. This may not look intense on paper, but in person it was aggressive and bold, but essential.

It was interesting hearing where everyone was coming from, and what they believe. It helped me to understand everyone so better, including my professor, and was also a cool opportunity for me to share my belief in the Gospel and the J-man. I wasn't alone in that either, which was also a wonderful discovery! The discussion left us in a great place where we know where each person is coming from, and can reflect on Tolkien and Lewis's work respectfully, but also honestly, because we had already shared our personal beliefs.

After class I read for a few hours. ( I will be reading for the next million years...aside from the 10 books we are studying in the next 5 weeks, my professors also gave us about 400 more pages of supplementary reading today...dang. The nerd in me has to admit that I love it though... and I already ready 7 out of 10 books.) After that we all headed to a cocktail reception with the whole program, including professors, in one of the art museums in the city, called the Victoria Art Gallery. Drinking wine with our professors was a bit weird at first, but we got used to it! Everyone mingled, and it was so great to get the opportunity to get to know each other on an informal and social level. After a bit, the director of ASE,  Jonathan Hope, invited us all out to the pub! Everyone went to the "afterparty" at the Pig and Fiddle, a great local pub in Bath. After oneCrabbies (current fave) and some lovely chats with my professors, I called it a night, and headed home to bed and two brand new pillows...cozy!

Hope all is well across the Irish and Atlantic Seas!

xoxo

Emily

ps. Lots of fun stuff coming up, including a "tour of flirtation" for Jane, and trips to Cornwall, Oxford, and Manchester! eeek :-) pumped.

                                               Oops! Ali and I wore opposite but matchy outfits...including our gold shoes!

Oops! Ali and I wore opposite outfits...including our gold shoes!

Bath: And So It Begins!

"Now they rode away amid songs of farewell and good speed, with their hearts ready for more adventure.."

Tolkien, The Hobbit

Not much to report today other than that John and I parted ways for the next five weeks. Our trip so far has been amazing...We had fun talking the past few days about the things we have learned about each other that we didn't know before. We have traveled a fair amount together in the past few years, but usually to visit family, go to weddings, head to the Vineyard or Vermont, or with our families, and so this was our first trip overseas, alone. As i was telling my best friend Emily, there is something to planning and going on such a big trip all on your own, with so much to see, that really reveals stuff about each other that you never knew. She sagely replied that that is actually really nice and oddly reassuring, because it would be depressing and boring if your already felt like you knew everything there was to know about someone. Too true!

It was sad, but I am so excited for his next leg, Ireland, and I am ready and excited to start my program here in Bath. This morning I packed up my stuff and met up with my roommate, Alison, who got here yesterday. We had a yummy brunch at Sally Luns, and then headed to our program office, where we were led to our house, called Linley house, right across the street. We lucked out with location, there are eight of us in this house and everyone else is 15 minutes away outside of the city center. We are right smack dab in it! Our house was built in the 1700s by John Wood, the man who also designed the famous Bath Crescent, as well as the circus. It's very neat and old, and our room is quite spacious! There are 3 other double rooms, two kitchens, a class room in the basement, 2 bathrooms, a dining room, and a living room. We are on the third floor, right next to the showers, score. Oddly enough the bathroom is on the 4th floor, all alone, so you feel like you are climbing up a turret to the toilet!

After we settled in we did a little walking around and window shopping. Bath is actually known as one of the premier shopping places in the UK (dangerous) so there are many beautiful stores and neat boutiques. We then grabbed some lunch and headed back to our house to meet our housemates, who all seem great, and have a small meeting. Then we settled down to reading Tolkien's essay On Fairy-Stories.

Let summer school begin!

Pretty low key night as it seems everyone else is fighting jetlag. We grabbed dinner and drinks w our friend Ali, who is also on the program and then headed back to our house. We have orientation all day tomorrow with the programs.

Word is Johnboy made it to Ireland, though there may have been a glitch w his hotel. Hoping he is currently sleeping somewhere other than a ditch right now. Good news-- he will hopefully continue blogging from Ireland, so we will all know soon enough how he has fared!

Weather was gorgeous today in Bath, all sun and no clouds. Huzzah!

xo

Emily (Sans JB. Sad)

Bath: Last day (JB)

Today was our last full day together before I head off to Doolin to meet up with the Quinn family. Still feeling a bit under the weather, I managed to fight through the day so that we could go see Stonehenge this morning.

We got on a bus with a tour bus company called Scarper Tours. By reserving a spot for the bus the day before with a small deposit, we were guaranteed seats for 10am. Including the entry to Stonehenge, it was about twenty pounds per person. I think it was well worth it and super convenient -- especially since it was Stonehenge (kind of a must see). The Stonehenge tour came with a free audioguide. Also, there were some cool sites along the way to Stonehenge, as well as some awesome views.

The site was actually really cool. The stones were about as big or even a little bigger than I had expected. Before we left, the weather report said that it was going to be 70 degrees and Sunny... Well, it was about 55 and rainy! Emily was very under dressed so she succumbed to looking like a mega tourist and bought a Stonehenge hoody to try and keep some of the rain at bay. We kind of rushed around the monument and took as many pictures as we could. The audioguide was really good, giving lots of info on the stages of Stonehenge, which span centuries. Pretty mind blowing.

Once we got off the bus tour, we ate at Pizza Express. Although some might be turned off by the fact that it is a bit of a chain restaurant, I had a yummy pizza with goat cheese and Emily got a nice salad.

This afternoon we took the skyline tour of Bath. It covered the outskirts of the city, and the foothills around it. Very pleasant ride. Learned a lot about all of the famous people that lived in Bath and the architecture, as well as all the small hamlets in the area. From the bus we could also look down on an incredible view of Bath. Bath is regarded as one of the most beautiful cities in England and highly renown for its Georgian style. The limestone used on the buildings is large and use very little cement of connect the stones.

Tonight we are going to have a nice dinner at the Brasserie Blanc since it will be our last night together for five weeks.

-John and Emily

-

This post was meant to be posted last night (6/7) and somehow made it into the drafts folder. Johnboy is now on his way to Ireland!