So, my first stop in the UK was in the beautiful and very peaceful town of Bath, located about 2 hours west of London. Bath is best know for their natural thermal hot springs but is also a filled with a rather vibrant crowd of people and a nice set of architectural buildings. The shopping area is very cute and gave me my first taste of food in the UK, primarily pastries, which was very good. Shops and stores close early compared to the USA, but many pubs stay open late. This was also where I first figured out the UK cost a a ton! I generally like to go into super markets in a new place to figure out what life is like. You see the local families, usually not the tourists, the varieties in food, how service is given, a variety in age groups, and a zest in how much things cost, which in Bath, was alot once you converted the price. I’m not saying everything was expensive, but a majority was more than what I’d pay here in the USA. The first example was for POM juice, which in the states cost about $3. Well, it was one of the first brands I recognized on the shelf and the price was 3.50 pounds, which converts to about $6.50. Wow..thats alot. More pictures and stories after the jump…

The other thing I noticed was the diversity in people, not much. On the streets, there was a good deal of asians and a few other cultures, but in the super market, none at all. I was in the market for some time, and actually got a few stares from some little kids. One even ran from behind me in front of me only to look at my face as if I were an alien of some sort. I gave him a smile and he scrurried back to his mother.

Overall, Bath was a very pleasant and relaxing place to be. Nice and kind people, food was good though not to diverse, air was fresh, and there were many tourists. I only spent a day there, but I got the basic vibe of the place. I was very tempted to visit the thermal spa which just opend up after a long rennovation, but figured out the price($40 for 2 hours) and the wait to be on the list. Bath also offers a zoo, a few museums, caves, and a mall to check out though I did not have time to do this. The many workers and street goers I spoke to said they lived in Bristol and told me to check it out for a better night life. That I did, and will post about next.

A nice set of apartments on a hill. I’m not sure what the deal is with the cars facing each other back and forth, but as relaxing as this city is I do not think anyone would notice. Many people laid around on the many beautiful greens and parks. I just wanted to throw a frisbee around, but I did not see this.

This was the very cute downtown shopping area which also had many historical sites. Many tourists came here and it quickly became silent in the evening as all the shops closed. Otherwise, during the day, it is rather lively and quaint.

The view from my hotel room. In the mornig, hot air balloons would literally pass over the hotels roof and into the sunny hills across. I was eating breakfast at this point and was tooooo relaxed to run up to my room to grab my camera.