Bath, England

See this beautiful train platform? We saw a lot of these in Europe. After a short train ride from the Cotswalds, we arrived in the absolutely lovely town of Bath, England.

FUN FACTS OF BATH:

Jane Austen lived here
Bath was known as a "Hollywood" of sorts back in this era -- It was the leading center of fashionable life.
It was first established as a spa resort by the Romans
Was inscribed as a "World Heritage Site" in 1987.

One afternoon Russ and I sat down in a park that was on the edge of this river and just relaxed. That's one thing I looooove about Europe -- there are parks everywhere, and they are always full. Going to the park is a daily activity.

For example, one day we sat down and ate lunch in this little park, and enjoyed the splendor of the Bath Abbey, an amazing church that dates all the way back to the 7th century (even though it was rebuilt in the 12th and 16th centuries).

I believe this lunch was the first Ham and Brie panini I ate in Europe. But do not be fooled, it was not my last. I <3 Brie Cheese. That may have been one of my favorite meals I had the whole trip.

To the right, Stuart is drinking a "milk shake"... or better known to us, flavored milk. Europe does not have quite the same terminologies for some food items.

One day we made the long walk up to Prior Park, an 18th-century landscape garden, designed by the poet Alexander Pope. It is the quintessential "English Garden," which tries to portray the idealized view of nature, and replace the formal, symmetrical gardens of the 17th-century. Anywho, it was absolutely gorgeous.

Prior park has one of the 4 remaining Palladian bridges overlooking a strikingly blue lake. Yes, this place is for real.

More of the park. They did not make it in this shot, but to the right were some black and white cows grazing in the field. You know, just because.

To make Prior Park even more idyllic, there is a private high school at the top (the building behind me in the picture below). We ran into a few of the students who looked like a group of Ralph Lauren models. One guy seriously was wearing riding boots, tan riding pants, a white button down shirt that was flowing open, and blond hair effortlessly swooped to the side. I didn't know people actually lived like that -- only in Bath, I'm assuming.

Here are some pictures of the lovely Bath Abbey I talked about. I loved just sitting and people watching in the square right outside this church's entrance. We saw street performers galore.