Honeymoon in Bath: 18th May

This week is dedicated to writing all about our honeymoon in Bath, all of the cool places we saw and the fun places we ate. After a relaxing Spa session the night before we woke up in out stunning room in The Bath Priory Hotel...

Up we get and down to the dining room for breakfast. Disappointingly there was no vegetarian option on the menu (well boiled egg but not the same) but they cheerfully made me eggs Benedict without the ham so all is well. All was more than well it was incredible. Like hold the chef at gunpoint and demand to know his hollandaise secrets incredible. Only we didn't have time... places to be and all.

Our first stop was totally my idea. As a former veg grower and total food nerd I like checking out farmers markets even when I can't go home with all the yummy looking chard, artisan bread and cheeses. Bath Farmers Market does offer plenty for the visitor though. 

Looks good, tastes better

We picked up some mango chilli sauce (I did, Stephen isn't a chilli chap). We stopped for a chat with a wonderful soap seller who showed us a picture of her garden full of the plants she uses and told us how she only uses collected rainwater. We left with a bar. I fell in love with these skirts. Stephen sampled an After Eight tart that may have come back with us.

the spread

Then we assembled our mid-morning snack. A macaroon each (mine was mango), a veggie scotch egg for Stephen and some sushi for me. Unfortunately the vegetarian scotch egg was horrible. The egg was wrapped in gooey undercooked stuffing. Everything else was thoroughly enjoyed in a park before we turned round and headed to The Herschel Museum of Astronomy.

"all I see is ceiling"

If you are in Bath this museum is well worth a visit. This is the house where William Herschel lived, played music, made telescopes and discovered Uranus. Uranus. The planet. Discovered. Garden. Go there. It was fascinating and fun to poke around the house where William and his equally awesome sister Caroline lived.

From there we went in the vague direction of lunch stopping first at this bookshop and then at this comic book shop. Both where incredibly friendly. I came out of the bookshop with a copy of How to Make Books by Esther K Smith and Asleep by Banana Yoshimoto (have you read anything by Banana Yoshimoto? You should. Gorgeous does not describe it) Stephen finally got a copy of V for Vendetta from the comic book shop and I caught up on a couple of titles.

Book shop shenanigans

The Bath branch of Lush compelled us to stop. Having a hotel with a giant bath meant we had to pick up some bubble bars and bath bombs. I also indulged in a little leave in conditioner (R&B, it worked very well) to help with the chlorine hair.

The memory of those sundried tomatoes is killing me

After that meander we made it to The Real Italian Pizza Company which is next to the Real Italian Ice Cream Company of last night. We started with a fab bit of bruschetta between us. Mainwise Stephen had Cannelloni and I had pizza with rocket, tomato cheese and basil
. 

For Him

It was perfect pizza, stunningly perfect. The flavours were balanced well, the sauce was especially delicious and the crust just that perfect level of crisp. This is the pizza other pizzas aspire to. Or they should. Get on that pizzas.

For Her

After lunch we felt like heading back to the hotel and trying out the spa. Nothing is going to be as spectacular as hanging out in a naturally heated rooftop pool but it was just as relaxing. The hotel also has a sauna (as well as a steam room) which I can breath in. Yep. I'm thoroughly spoiled. 

When you are tempted to eat the garnish you know it's good food

That evening we went to The Mint Room for some stunning Indian food. Stunning. The restaurant is small and beautifully decorated giving a sense of relaxed luxury. We shared a Vegetarian Platter for two to start. The paneer tikka and onion bahjis being highlights for me. 

Too Hot!

For the mains Stephen had Chennai Sea Bass which he was disappointed by. The accompanying sauce was too spicy for his taste. I had the lovely Palak Kofta which, I admit guiltily, Stephen would have loved as much as I did. The Kofta had an incredible texture, completely crisp on the outside to give a satisfying bite and rich and creamy in the middle.  

Just Right

Desert cheered Stephen up. He had a chocolate moose and I went for the Gulab Jamun. We walked back to the hotel very full after a day of nothing but food. I head to the bath (and my bombs!) and Stephen took a stroll around the garden. 

That's Better

  

Honeymoon In Bath: 17th May

This week is dedicated to writing all about our honeymoon in Bath, all of the cool places we saw and the fun places we ate. Enjoy :)


The train pulled in about 10.  Early. With a check in time of 3. We needed something to do. The Roman Bath itself seemed like an obvious choice especially as Friday would be our only weekday. The Baths handle the crowds really well but I'd still rather not contend with the Saturday tourists if I can get away with it.

You can see the water bubble up, how cool is that

I've been fascinated with the Roman Baths since I was young, even though I didn't get to visit in person until I was 19. The Romans where always a great interest of nerdy little girl me and Minerva was my favourite goddess. Sulis Minerva (who the bath is dedicated to) intrigued me as an amalgamation of the British and the Roman, almost a metaphor for the time the Romans came, mixed and shaped our history.

This contains the only known fragment of the British Celtic language

Looking at the artefacts is always amazing, the curse tablets being a particular favourite, but what is special about Bath is the atmosphere. The spring has been recognised as a special place since before the Romans came. The building has been shaped by Roman hands (and feet) but hasn't stood still with time, being changed, used (and yes, sometimes abused) by each generation. History didn't stop here but it's on display here. It's incredible.

Around the corner from the Roman Baths is Sally Lunns. One of the oldest houses in Bath and now a bakery and café and (so they say) the only place in the world to get your mitts on Sally Lunns buns. Huguenot baker Sally Lunns developed her bun back in the good old Georgian times (well they must have been good for someone, as a working class woman I don't think they would have been good for me...) and now the recipe is passed on with the deeds of the house.

Bigger buns than mine

I was a bit sceptical about eating there. Stephen really wanted to try the buns but I was worried it was just typical tourist stuff. Which it kind of is but it's also really well done, the staff are efficient and really friendly and the dining room we sat in was hilariously slanted (that's history for you!) Mostly though what makes it different is the bun. The bun. The bun certainly lives up to the hype. Light and delicious with a hint of sweetness. Also it's bloody huge.

A little (lot) more walking saw us at the hotel. Bath Priory is a small hotel with a spa and rather fancy restaurant. Our room wasn't ready when we arrived so we wandered around the garden for a while. The gardens are stunning and more will be written on them later. The head gardener has a Chelsea medal. All in all the place is posh. And there I was in my knee high boots. Nevertheless we were allowed to check in and shown to our room.

A small town could be built on that bed

We were upgraded. The room was stunning, covered in rose petals and they left us a card for our wedding. Awww.

But this was no time to linger. We had plans. Back into the city we went and straight to the spa. And unfortunately we had to leave our cameras behind. Thermae Bath Spa has two pools fed by the city's springs. One is on the roof. This is the type of place you know you are going to enjoy before you visit. The history nerd in me was happy with the idea that I was continuing in a tradition going back to Roman times and swimming pool on the roof, what part of me wouldn't love that?

Even the swimming pool that wasn't on the roof was spectacular but the swimming pool that was on the roof was bloody spectacular. The view, the bubbles, the relaxed floating, it was wonderful. We also tried the scented steam rooms which didn't mix well with my asthma. The huge ass waterfall shower goes well with everything.

Included in our entry was a dish from the grazing menu. The main vegetarian option on the menu was a particularly uninspired Wild Mushroom Risotto. It wasn't great. The mushrooms were cooked unevenly. The small ones were practically mush and the larger ones raw in the centre. It could have done with much more of the tomato sauce to cook through the stodge. I wouldn't have eaten here if it didn't come with the package but it did and it wasn't inedible so why not eat it and go back to the pool.

After our time was up we started a Bath tradition. We walked past Real Italian Ice Cream and popped in. I had a scoop of mango and a scoop of kiwi, Stephen had milk cream. It was so delicious we returned again and again.

So that was our first day in Bath. Relaxation, ice cream and history.