Sorry for the late posting. Our landlord turned the internet off at 8:00 last night, and I was just loading my pictures.
Today we had tea twice (to make up for missing it yesterday). We went to the Jane Austen Centre and had "tea with Mr. Darcy". Very fun and delicious scones. The tea was very good, and we didn't understand the Italian/French/German people at the next table who ordered nothing but cappucinos. Who goes to the tea room at the Jane Austen Centre and orders cappucino?
Then we headed to Milsom Street to do a little shopping. In Jane's era it was
the street to shop on in Bath. We found a little fabric store just off Milsom Street and Ann bought some gorgeous navy blue velvet for a spencer. I got some beautiful lace for fichus. They will look lovely with the pink velvet I got for a spencer in Brighton. I alo got some lovely bonnet ribbons and clasps here in Bath.
After tea, we went to the Fashion Museum, which is located inside the Assembly Rooms, where Jane set several scenes in her novels. We saw some incredible clothes from several periods in history. Our favorites were from the Regency, of course! When we drew our little fashion pictures to put on the board, we both did drawings of Regency gowns and bonnets. We had great fun trying on the corsets and crinolines.
Then it was back to our guest house to change into our Regency outfits again for tea at the Pump Room! It was the social center of Regency Bath, and Jane would have visited it herself many times, as well as having characters congregate there in
Persuasion and
Northanger Abbey. We felt splendid having tea under the glittering chandelier and listening to live music. We tried the waters (as one must do when one comes to Bath) and although many people think they are disgusting, we found them to be somewhere between Junction City water and Lithia water in Ashland.
Bath was a beautiful city, and we have thoroughly enjoyed our time here. We can't wait to come back, maybe for the Jane Austen festival one day!
We took a train to London and arrived at Paddington Station. After a short walk, we checked into our new hotel in Kensington Gardens Square. It is lovely, with a very festive lobby.
We had lunch at a classic old pub nearby.
We walked down to Portobello Road and poked around the stalls and antique shops. It isn't nearly as crowded as it will be at the weekend. We found a stall with beautiful wool top hats, and amazingly enough, they came in sizes big enough for our heads. So we each bought one and are now planning a Regency hunt or other event where we can wear them.
