Ancient Customs, Modern Twist

The past couple of days have been really rather lazy here, and I’ve been a bum and not written any blogs. Partially, this is because I haven’t had any classes since Wednesday and won’t be having any for another week. However, dear Blog Friends, this is no reason for me to neglect you.

I suppose I can start with Friday afternoon. Shea, Alli, and I decided to go to the Thermae Bath Spa, a new spa which opened about two blocks from our house. We didn’t get any actual treatments (although Shea and I tried—they were booked), but we instead got a Spa Sessions pass. We got two hours in which to take the waters—all of it naturally heated from the thermal springs which feed the ancient Roman Baths only a few feet away. It was amazing!!! On the bottom level we found the Minerva Hot Baths, which was basically an indoor swimming pool of spring water. It even had a lazy river current going through it. A level up we found the steam rooms and thermal springs shower. The steam rooms were amazing, though not so pretty as the steam rooms in the Rainforest, the Turkish Baths on the Disney Cruise. They were much more powerful, though. The first one smelled of mint, the next mint and eucalyptus, the third lavender, and the fourth frankincense. The frankincense and lavender were the best. In the middle of the room was a large, extremely powerful… waterfall. It was a thermal shower and all of the water comes from the springs. Along the edges of the rooms were personal foot baths, and cold showers and hot showers. Also on this level was the Springs Café and Restaurant, which we didn’t go into, but it looked very delectable. Up one more level was the outdoor pool. Despite the cold day, the pool was still piping hot, due to the heat of the springs. The views were amazing at the topside pool. We could see the whole of Bath, and we were comfortable and warm in this large (if somewhat crowded) pool. Steam was rising off of the top of the water due to the cold air blowing over the pool. It was amazing.

All I could think of was the Romans and their baths—we were essentially in a new Roman Bath. Lots of people were just sitting in steam rooms or lazing about pools, socializing and relaxing, and I realized that what we had was a modern twist on a very ancient custom. Obviously, we all had bathing suits instead of birthday suits, and the facilities were sanitized and looked much more technologically advanced with sleek shear lines instead of Roman architecture, but there we were—a block from the ancient Roman Baths—enjoying the hot springs.

Saturday was day-trip time!!! My friend Andrew and I went to Glastonbury, a city about 31 miles south of Bristol. Glastonbury is the reputed home of the Isle of Avalon, from the King Arthur legends, and Glastonbury Abbey is the (reputed) site of King Arthur’s grave. Andrew and I left for Glastonbury pretty early in the morning, but what with train schedules and bus schedules we didn’t get into the town until a little after 11:00. We had a quick lunch in a pub (a pub with two cats; one of them slept on the heater behind me the entire meal), then headed for the Tor, a large hill rising out of the flatness of Somerset. There are the ruins of St. Michael’s Cathedral at the top, and I read that the ancient Celts believed that the portal to the underworld was located at the top of the Tor. It was also a pilgrimage site in the early 1^st millennium—the land around the Tor would flood and pilgrims would take boats to the bottom of the hill and climb it. The views were amazing!!! The whole Tor experience was amazing, really. I could feel my muscles working to climb it, and if you looked forward you could see the beauty of St. Michael’s Bell Tower, and if you looked back you could see an entire county—miles and miles of cultivated land and villages. At the top I realized, so many have seen this. Some have seen it as I do, others saw it waterlogged and praised God at the top. Just across the way was Wearyall Hill, where Joseph of Arimathea rested his staff after his journey from the Holy Land, and a thorn tree sprouted. The thorn tree is definitely there; people have tied ribbons to it, and at the bottom sits a picture of Jesus. It was also a pilgrimage site, but now it is a hill through a neighborhood and a sheep field (the sheep were awesome!). The rest of the town was kind of hokey, touristy, and too new age-y for my taste. There was a place called The Chalice and Well, which holds an ancient well and an ancient spring. I really wanted to go, but it cost 3.50 pounds to get in. Then, as we were descending the Tor we saw a little water runoff behind the Chalice Gardens. A woman was filling up her waterbottle there-- then we noticed that she was filling up about fifteen waterbottles, all which bore the label "The Chalice and Well." A few minutes later, as we passed the entrance to the Chalice and Well, we saw two tourists carrying out half-filled bottles of "spring" water... bearing the label "The Chalice and Well." The place was filling their bottles at a runoff grate behind the gardens! What a rip-off!!!! Then there were some interesting looking shops, but also some which sold prosthetic elf ears, and all I could think was, why on earth would that even be a practical purchase, even if you did believe in the Goddess and Avalon and Magic? Seriously? Plastic elf ears?

Saturday night was slightly crazy, but less so for me than for all of the single people on this trip. I got slightly drunk at a party at the Northhamptons, came home, talked to Jake online for awhile (I remember a conversation about 1 Henry IV, by William Shakespeare), and then fell asleep. Apparently much more excitement happened after I feel asleep, however.

Sunday was lazy. So lazy I didn’t even bother with a blog entry. So lazy that I bought a pasty for lunch from the good pasty place. The only productive thing that happened was that Emily, Andrew, John, and I worked out our Spring Break plans tentatively, and we should have it all finished by the end of today!!! So far, we plan on about four days in Ireland and three days in Germany. The two places I most wanted to visit while here! It’s perfect! “Nien, das auto ist kliener rot!” That’s all I know how to say in German. It means no, the car is not red. Thank you, Rosetta Stone. Nevertheless, I’m excited for today, for Spring Break planning, paper-writing, exercising, and packing for Stratford-Upon-Avon!!!