Bubbly Fun at Bath, England, by da-AL

January 17, 2020February 27, 2022 da-AL Art, Eating, Europe, Food, History, Museums, Tea, Travel, Uncategorized, Vacations, Walking

The city of Bath, England, is famous for — its ancient Roman Baths! First, we’d seen London here, visited the British Museum here and here and here, Avebury henge, Stokesay Castle, Harlech and Conwy and Penrith and Ullswater, and later saw Scotland’s Kelpies…

The Roman Baths at Bath are beautiful, but only to look at.

The Roman baths of Bath are a fantastic bit of time-travel. The green bubbling waters are no longer available for soaking in. Once upon a time, they were said to cure just about anything, but then a young girl died from catching a bug while swimming there in 1978…

Waive hi! The 2nd floor is newer. On the top right is the tea room.

There’s a museum with artifacts and explanations of their glory days. Dioramas show the site in its glory days…

A diorama of how the Roman Baths looked in their heyday, eons ago.

Back in the 1st century AD, this bather sported quite an intricate hair-do, front and back…

Rich ladies like this one must not have done their own hair.

Her hair is even more detailed in the back.

The gods were honored there…

Goddess Sulis Minerva had her own temple at the Roman Baths at Bath, England.

Some people flung their prayers, or rather their curses, written on lead and pewter to people who stole their stuff while they bathed…

The waters took care of gripes like these ones written on little tablets.

After a sample of safe-to-drink thermal water that’s piped in from nearby, we were ready for high tea there. Far more than a mere snack, the elegantly presented occasion included live classical music…

Tea refreshes mind, body, and spirit — along with delicious food, a storybook setting, and delighfful music.

Our tummies full and our leftovers packed in a doggie bag, we visited Bath Abbey next door…

There’s always something happening at intricate Bath Abbey.

And walked along the river.

Even without the Roman Baths, Bath is wonderful to stroll.

Are there natural baths, water, or mud or otherwise, around where you live?

Enchanting Espelette, France, by da-AL

February 25, 2018October 28, 2018 da-AL Adults, Adventure, Architecture, Barcelona, Basque, Cooking, Dining, Eating, Food, France, French Basque Country, Heaven on Earth, Huesca, Huesca Cathedral, Spain, Tea, Travel, Uncategorized, Weekend Excursion

After a weekend of beautiful Barcelona, we drove towards French Basque country. We lunched in wonderful Huesca and overnighted in pretty Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port.

The sun shone and we were back on the road. What better way to relax than to stop in the enchanting Basque town of Espelette?

We sipped hot chocolate at a sidewalk cafe…

We shopped for edible gifts from a kindly shopkeeper, including the special not-too-hot red pepper power the city is known for…

And we strolled, admiring the town’s typically red-accented white buildings…

Everything, everyone, the weather — it was all so charming, that I could easily have stayed for a nap…

…but we had more places to visit! We were headed further into phenomenal French Basque Country (Saint-Jean-de-Luz, Bayonne, and Biarritz).

Then, back in Spain (after all, my upcoming novel is titled “Flamenco & the Sitting Cat”), we’d marvel at the food and seaside dogs of San Sebastián, Spain and breathtaking Bilbao…

Guest Blog Post: “Connected,” in Viola Bleu’s exact words

February 1, 2018September 16, 2018 da-AL Books, Chat, Definitions, Dessert, Friendship, Guest Posts, Humor, Life, London, Mindfulness, Modern Life, Reblog, Story Telling, Tea, Words, Working, Working from Home, Writing

Viola Bleu invites us to tea!

Getting us to laugh is fellow blogger Viola Bleu’s mission. Today she invites us to share Earl Gray tea and custard cream sandwich cookies (simply called ‘custard creams’ in Viola’s London, where biscuits are what gringos call cookies) while she ruminates on publishing, friendship, and helping each other …

IdeasBecomeWords

A quickie today because I have a to-do list as long as my leg (usually they say arm but I prefer to think outside the box and it’s a bloody long list).

I have a children’s book to type up for a friend, about which I am starting to think I’ve bitten off more than I can chew because she’d like her words interwoven between her Enid Blyton-style illustrations 😬 (and there was me thinking I was merely typing up a rough draft. This amazing 83 year old lady and friend of 24 years has written it out on random pieces of paper. In pencil.)

She feels is it her final chance to get something in print before she is “too old” (her words not mine) and I am delighted to pause in my own humble writing efforts in order to assist in any way I can. All being well…

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