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I recently travelled to England with my mother, a couple of aunts, a cousin, a family friend and a whole busload of strangers. It was a 10 day tour mostly of the western edge of England. Everyone on the tour had their “spot”, a particular tour stop they were especially excited about. Mine was Bath. Anyone who knows Jane Austen should be able to ascertain from my blog name and tagline that I am a Janeite. I am a card carrying member of the Jane Austen Society of North America (okay, not card carrying, we don’t have cards) and I do not leave home on a trip without at least one of her novels. Someone might also gather from this blog that my favorite novel is Pride and Prejudice. Not a shocker. I would be willing to bet that 98% of Austen readers would rank it their favorite. The next two on my list however might be considered blasphemy. My second favorite Austen novel is Northanger Abbey followed closely by Persuasion. And what do these novels have in common? Bath. Northanger takes place almost exclusively there and Persuasion has its climax there. On top of that, Jane Austen herself visited Bath often as a young lady and lived there for some time as well. So this was my pilgrimage. To walk in the footsteps of Jane Austen and two of my favorite heroines. To see the baths, the Pump Room, Assembly Rooms, walk the narrow streets was a dream come true. Of course it rained, and rained. I was forced to don a poncho from the Dollar Tree over my carefully chosen attire (I’m always very conscious of not looking like a tourist). My mother the trooper, trudged along the streets with me in my quest for the Jane Austen Centre where we took refuge from the downpour. From here we made our way with our trusty tourist map to the Assembly Rooms which house an International Fashion Museum. The museum was unbelievable. I love clothes, love them, and the collection they had dating as far back as the 17th century was awe inspiring. Our lunch stop was Sally Lunn’s, famous for her buns, and they were delicious. We only had 3 hours in Bath, so I didn’t even come close to seeing all I wanted to see. I am determined to make my husband go back there with me and at least a couple of days there. If you ever have the opportunity to go, do it. It is a lovely city, and I recommend you see the fashion museum. If nothing else you’ll be amazed at how short and skinny women were a couple hundred years ago.
agreatreader 