Prior Park

   

     I trudged up a steep hill (one of many in Bath) to get to Prior Park Landscape Garden.  The garden was created by Ralph Allen in the 1700s.  Ralph Allen changed the postal service in 1720 and made a fortune.  The garden was neglected for a little over 200 years until the National Trust restored it.  Some of things I saw were the Grotto, the Gothic Temple site, the Palladian Bridge, and the Mansion.  The mansion and bridge both use Greek and Roman architecture.  Near the bridge there was a beautiful swan family and ducks.  After I finished exploring, I went to the Tea Shed and got a toffee ice cream, which came from a local farm just outside Bath.  It gave me enough energy to make it back home.

A Side Trip to Bristol: Gromit Unleashed

Nuts and Bolts

Last  Sunday we went to Bristol which is about 15 miles from Bath. We went on the train and as soon as we got there I saw my first Gromit.  Gromit is a popular character in a stop motion comedy film series.  Gromit Unleashed is all about raising money for charity.  There are 80 Gromits, each decorated by a different artist.  They are all around Bristol.  I picked up a Gromit trail map at the M-Shed museum.  The Gromits were huge, and very unique.  I saw only 12 out of the 80 but it was a good way to explore the city. I loved all of the Gromits.

Aquae Sulis

The Great bath

I went to the Roman Baths at 7 p.m. to see it lit up with torches.  I got more then I expected- it was also a museum. The audio guides were very informative and told you about artifacts the baths had.  There were also computer projections that showed what the Romans looked like and what they did in certain parts of the exhibit.  When we got to the Great bath (the one that is open for viewing) I stood close to it and looked around.  The water in the bath is from a natural hot spring. My favorite part was the actors pretending to be actual Romans.  One told me all about the makeup wealthy women wore.  The architecture was impressive and they didn't have many of the machines we have today (though the romans were really smart - they found out the correct  measurement of a year).  The people of Aquae Sulis (what Bath was called back then) built the baths as a temple to the goddess Minerva, the goddess of wisdom.

An actor pretending to be a Roman craftsman

The Gorgon carving

The Green Rocket Cafe

Damian's rice burger

If I were a food critic, I would give the Green Rocket Cafe five stars.  It is a vegetarian restaurant in the middle of Bath.  My family and I went  there for lunch and everyone ordered something different. I had a spiced sweet potato soup, my brother had a rice burger with haloumi (that is a fry-able cheese), my mom had an Egyptian mezze, and my dad had a Persian stew.  I liked the rice burger best (the haloumi cheese is my new favourite cheese!) and my brother loved my soup.  This is a place we will come back to!

Egyptian mezze

Sham Castle

     It was a nice day so I decided to take a walk to Sham Castle.  I went up a short, steep, and very weedy hill to get there.  Suddenly through the bramble and brush the castle began to form.  Or what was left of it.  The castle didn't have a back! Then I realized...Sham Castle was a folly or a building that was built for decoration. Once I was on top of the hill I could see all of Bath and and beyond.