See Me Now

  I’m still pretty jet-lagged. In addition, substantial overnight street noise (reportedly from Bath University students just arriving for “freshie” week) has repeatedly interrupted my fragile slumbers so I’m kind of a mess.   Even so, I forced myself into those morning runs which, despite my being bleary, started my days off well. I had spied a footpath bordering the Avon and headed that way early Friday morning.   Instead, I found myself on the old towpath that runs alongside the Kennet & Avon Canal. I hadn’t even known the canal existed so was delighted to discover this scenic, traffic-free, and peaceful place to run. There are many narrowboats – people’s residences – docked along the canal, and pretty properties backing up to it. At the end near town, there’s a series of impressive locks used to get your boat to/from the Avon.              Later, I headed out for my walking day heading first to Alexandra Park which is ...

Upon feeling perky overnight at 3:30 am, I set my alarm for 7am this morning thinking I would get up and go on a short run. Alas, when the alarm sounded, I was deep in slow-wave sleep and woke up only long enough to dismiss the alarm and flip my pillow.   I managed to get going by the B&B’s breakfast time (8:30am); breakfast was quite good with uncharacteristically (for Britain) strong coffee. More on this B&B below. For not having really planned this day, it turned out pretty great. I decided to start by following a Jane Austen walking tour , created by the city of Bath and available online.   It was easy to follow, informative, and rivaled any Rick Steves or other audio-walking-tour I’ve tried. Although it highlighted various Austen locations, it wasn’t overly-Jane and was of general interest to anyone, I’d think.     After the first stop, I found myself outside the entrance to Bath’s Roman Baths . It was still early in the day with no-one in line and, ev...

               I’m safely ensconced in my Bath, UK Bed & Breakfast after a long but incident-free travel day. The only minor glitch was that the train from London to Bath took nearly twice as long as scheduled due to a route “diversion following a gas leak near Didcot, which is causing severe disruption to train services.”   I was exhausted at this point, but any aggravation was offset by recognizing my massive luck at being on this train at all.   I had scheduled a later train but managed to board this one, only to discover that the one I’d originally scheduled, and several others, ended up being canceled. Whew! After settling in and showering, I took a short reconnaissance walk and saw what looks to be Bath’s version of the Ponte Vecchio.   Pulteney Bridge Now, after several hours of sleep, I’m awake at midnight Bath time, hearing all sorts of raucous Jane Austen fan tourists milling around outside. I’ll begin my ow...