Bank Holiday Bath anyone?

On our first Bank Holiday in the UK, Cigdem, Michelle and I decided to spend the long weekend Monday in Bath.

This historic city has been designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site and presents some of the finest architectural sights in Europe, most notably the famous Roman Baths.

• Bath is about 2 hrs west of where we were and I must say, it was a pretty surprisingly interesting town. It has a very strong Roman influence and it's biggest attraction are the Roman Baths which were situated on top of a natural hot spring, thought to bring healing/magical powers. Natural hot water still flows through here but the baths themselves are no longer used and the water is sort of greenish in colour but yes, hot.

• At the end of the Roman baths, we were able to sample some of the actual water, which is thought to be good for your digestive/overall health. YUCK! Tasted like hot water that had a million pennies in it..

• We also took a sightseeing open-top bus tour that took about 45 minutes and wandered throughout the city. We also passed by the place where Jane Austen lived (woohoo! :P) and got a quick glimpse of the famous Royal Crescent, a crescent shaped street, with 30 houses, and amazing architecture. Drove through the University of Bath (they also have a separate university in town, Bath University!) which is known for medical engineering and sports/athletics. A lot of Olympians have schooled/trained here and also the English Rugby club prepares here for international matches.

• "Pulteney Bridge, together with the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, is one of the world's most beautiful bridges. Like the Ponte Vecchio it is one of a handful of historic bridges in the world with shops built into it."

• Ate at Sally Lunn's restaurant, which is in the oldest building in Bath. It's famous for Sally Lunn's buns (originally Soleil and Lune for the dark top and light bottom colour of the bun itself).

• The city of Bath has all these different pig sculptures all over the city - just like Toronto has it's mooses! They're all commissioned by various artists/businesses and there's a pig-hunting treasure hunt involved with them, if you have the time.