Bath, the thing you take when you fill up a large porcelain tub with water. The first of what we now know as baths were taken during the time of the Romans in England. It was from the large Roman baths constructed in the area that our destination town and what we call the bath tub is named after :)
Matt had taken the journey a few times before and explained how it was a 15 mile journey along a paved road that was nice and flat because it used to be a railroad track. The path was really gorgeous, with sweeping willows that would brush along you as you rode and blackberry bushes galore with an array of fruit ready to be picked and eaten (there is so much wild fruit growing in England in parks and just anywhere outdoors, its great because anyone can pick and eat them!)
After a few water and stretch breaks (the rented bicycle seats were extremely uncomfortable) we arrived in Bath, a town of remarkable architectural uniformity. Building are made both from the same stone and in the same style and while that could get boring (I'm thinking American cardboard box/track houses) these buildings were pretty magnificent.
We biked through town and down a number of side streets too small for cars to pass through in search of a good place to have lunch and arrived at a large restaurant with views of the wooded hillsides speckled with the beautiful white buildings of the town and a vast park (that charged everyone but residents to get in!).
As far as English food goes, I actually am a pretty big fan of most dishes. They really fit with the weather I that they are hearty, with lots of potatoes and a lot of thick, stew-like dishes. I'm particularly fond of the pies (think pot-pie in the US) and had an awesome one at the restaurant in Bath.
After some perusing around the outskirts of the park and a lie-down in a grassy city square, we hopped back on the bikes to get back to Bristol. We had to play some bike musical chairs as Jackie was having a tough time because her seat was really uncomfortable but the seat was too low for Matthew, resulting in the three of us swapping out bikes every few miles along the way back.
Once home, Matt and Jackie were totally tuckered out while I was still good to go due to my love of biking and exercise of any sort. I did a bit of yoga while the other to couched it then cooked up a big dinner to share.
Tired from a good long day of physical exertion we got cozy and watched No Country for Old Men (excessively violent and not something I would recommend) before resting up for our next bit of travel the following day.
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