.Bath.

7.30.09

Today was originally going to be a group day but they decided to make it a free day so that those who didn’t want to go to Bath, didn’t have to. We decided to go today since the time was already set out. We really enjoyed it. I actually enjoyed going on our own time because we weren’t so rushed to get out this morning. We were still able to get out at a good time to enjoy our time there.

The Roman Baths were pretty cool. We participated in an audio tour that explained all the various rooms and the ways of the people. The baths go back to around 76 AD. Ancient engineering and concepts were used to build and create this space. The Romans believed that personal cleanliness was important and believed that it should be done every day. When asked why the Roman emperor bathed every day, his response was, “because I can’t do it twice a day.” The process of bathing was quite a long one. After arriving, the Romans would change and make their way to a room where they would be lathered with oils. They would then go into a sauna-like room that was heated by steam on a raised flooring system. They would poor water on the hot floor that would create steam. It was said that the floors were too hot to walk on with bare feet. After steaming, they would go to a room where they would use sharp tools to scrape off the dead skin and particles from their skin before entering the bath, which was filled with warm water from the natural springs. I was really quite fascinating to see how things were done.

More than not, the Baths were a social gathering place. Historical assumptions have been made as well as research done to explain the ways and activities of the people. I would be interested to know what it life would have been like in their day. Quite fascinating, I’m sure. It is amazing to see the engineering and the science used to bring it all about.

There are some gems that have been discovered in the baths that are now in a unique collection. All of these gems were uniquely carved. It is believed that these gems were once held in a ring setting and due to the chemicals in the water the gems would fall out. It was said that losing one of these gems was like “losing a piece of your soul.” I thought they were beautiful.

We had a good time today. It was nice to have time to enjoy and learn about the Roman Baths. It only took us about an hour and a half to get out there by train so I’m glad that we took advantage of our time to go.

On our way home, we just so happened to hop on the tube train that was headed in the wrong direction. It was headed to the end of the district line and by golly, I am so glad that we got on that particular train. The driver was quite a character. He got on to announce that we were approaching the end of the district line and encouraged everyone to “gather your belongings, your luggage, your laptops, your lunch boxes,” and then paused to say, “your loved ones.” We laughed as he rambled on. When the train came to a stop, he thanked us for riding with them and said, “Keep smiling, now. A smile is of no value until you give it away.” Cute!!!