When I was working in England I bought a season pass to take the underground. Included in that pass was a round trip to anywhere in the UK I would want to go…by train. I flipped through the options, and I thought about Wales. It looked boring. I thought about Scotland, and realized very quickly I would’t be able to understand anyone. Then I happened on this old tourist town by the name of Bath. It is named so because of the Roman-baths that still exist there to this day. In the Georgian and Victorian era of England this was the premiere place to visit for any person of status to rest and relax.
After 4 hours of trodding along the British country side we finally reached our destination. The area was green, but rather unremarkable. I never bother with guided tours, and therefore I decided to go for a walk, and get lost for a moment. What no one told me was how many hills were in this town. I walked through a park, and up many hills until I reached what appears to be the center of this beautiful place.
The Royal Crescent stands as the epitome of Georgian Architecture. This is a row of 30 townhouses connected in the center of bath that overlook one of the most beautiful parks I have ever seen. It’s design reflects the classical Greek and Roman concepts of symmetry with elegant ornamentation of its time. Although it was finished in1774 it is still in use to this day. House 1 has been turned into a museum, however many of them are still residential homes. What I could not believe was the price each one fetched. The most recent sale was for 6.5 million pounds (around 8 millions USD). The sheer amount of stone involved in making this monument was jaw dropping. I loved so many aspects about it. The timeless design created homes I would want to live in. I loved the live-able aspect of a community park literally off your front doorstep. The green and lighting made for a home and connected feeling. I decided to have a lunch that day sitting in this park. As I laid against one of the few trees I saw couples talking, children at play, and everyone in between enjoying their day. People had done that in this place since before we were a country, and hopefully will continue living there long after. For anyone wanting to visit England I highly recommend Bath.
