Saturday, September 21, 2013

Bath, England: Roman Baths and Fashion History


Bath, England has much more to offer than meets the eye. You could easily spend 4 days there and still not see everything. Two of my favorite places when I visited Bath were the Roman Baths and the Fashion Museum. These are popular tourist attractions for a good reason. If you ever visit Bath and decide you want to see both, then there are combined tickets for these two attractions that will save you a little bit of money.


The Roman Baths are absolutely spectacular. You could spend about half a day there and feel like you got the full experience. It would be easy to speed through it in about an hour an a half, but you can't learn anything in that time frame. The museum and exhibition has you literally walking on the old ruins and leads you through each room in succession, to provide an accurate experience of bathing during Roman times. There are free guided tours that are wonderful, as well, so be sure to catch one of those! If you can't make a guided tour then opt for an audio guide. It will really help you understand the history, the ruins recovery and discovery, and the impact on civilization around Bath. 



The Fashion Museum is also a spectacular display of clothing and trends through time, with both high fashion labels and clothing without a brand. It shows how fashion has developed and sometimes has special exhibitions. When I went, the Laura Ashley exhibit was showing. Keep in mind that this museum displays mostly women's fashions, with some men's pieces here and there. This would be a fun museum for anyone whose interested in fashion from now going back to the 16th century. 



There is also a free walking tour of the city that meets outside the Roman Baths, and you can find out more information about this tour at the tourist info center in the adjacent square to the Baths. This tour was informative and fun, and the tour guide offered stories about old residents of Bath that you won't forget. This is the best way to see all the main attractions, as it is actually FREE! No tips accepted :)

Staying in Bath:
Hostels are an easy way to travel, and if you choose to travel by hostels then I have a recommendation for Bath. Don't stay in St. Christopher's hostel. It was noisy, dirty, didn't have a kitchen. In fact, I figured out that they don't clean and change the sheets after each person, they turn them inside out. There aren't too many hostels in Bath, but I'd opt for a cheap hotel or bed and breakfast somewhere in the city. You're much more likely to have a clean bed and room, and better service than any hostel.

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Transportation Choices and the TravelRest Pillow

Traveling around the United Kingdom, I took mostly trains and buses to get from place to place. Not only is it the cheapest way to travel, but traveling by train can be the fastest too. If you do decide to travel by train around the UK or Europe, then make sure you book tickets in advance. Like plane tickets, the train tickets get more expensive as you book them more last minute. Buses are definitely the cheapest form of transportation, but you lose a lot of time for exploring cities since bus trips almost always take longer. 

Traveling is also exhausting, and I'm beginning to notice that I fall asleep most frequently on trains and buses. That's when the TravelRest pillow comes in handy! 



On a particular bus trip, I was especially happy to have my TravelRest with me. The woman in front of me was trying to lay down across two very uncomfortable seats with her head jammed against the bus wall and legs hanging off the edge into the isle. I luckily had my TravelRest pillow with me and within the minute I had my pillow set up and was ready to take my nap. After getting off the bus, I overheard the woman in front of me telling her husband that her neck was hurting from the position she was in and that she didn't get a wink! That was one of those moments where I was very thankful for my TravelRest pillow. 

It's so hard to find comfort while traveling, but the TravelRest pillow is one of those things that allows me to feel rested even when I'm in the most uncomfortable places. 

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Scotland: Edinburgh & the Fringe Festival

The beauty of Scotland stretches from the Highlands to the Lowlands and especially finds its place in Edinburgh. If you ever decide to make a trip to Edinburgh, then consider visiting the city during the annual Fringe Festival. The Fringe Festival in Edinburgh is one of the best in the world, and will keep you entertained all day and night for a whole month. With over 2,500 shows in under a month this year (2013), you'll definitely find something to keep you busy. There are an endless number of free shows (many comedy acts are free), and you can't go wrong with a few laughs and smiles! 

The Fringe is such a popular festival that the poplation of Edinburgh city more than doubles from all the people that show up for the month. So if you can't handle crowds, and aren't interested in the arts, then visiting Edinburgh during this time probably isn't for you. I personally had an incredible time at the Fringe and saw a couple comedy acts, a dance/ circus show, and plenty of fun street performances.



With or without the Fringe Festival, Edinburgh still holds its own as an incredible city to visit. One of the top attractions is Edinburgh Castle, where you can take a tour of the old castle and see the recovered Honors of Scotland (the stone, the crown, the sceptor, and the sword). I toured the castle with an audio guide, which helped explain the history of the castle, each room you enter, and the architecture and decorations within and outside the Castle. I highly recommend the audio guide to make the most of your visit. Also stop to listen to any demonstrations being given; I learned some cool facts by stopping to listen. One fact I learned is that the term best man came from more barbaric times of marriage, when your best man was actually your best fighting man. Instead of just choosing a good friend to support your marriage, you chose a strong fighter to defend you in the case that an armed man tried to stop your marriage. 




Another great attraction in Edinburgh is Holyrood Palace and the Queens Gallery. If you are planning on visiting Buckingham Palace and don't want to spend extra money on something similar then just visit the Queens Gallery. This last time I went, the Gallery was showing the original drawings from Leonardo DaVinci's Mechanics of Man. The exhibit was mind-blowing and really taught me a lot about the body and about DaVinci's impact on the scientific world (versus his well known impact on the arts). The admission to the Queen's Gallery is very reasonable (around 6 pounds).

Lastly, try out a Rabbie's tour of the Highlands for a day. For around an average of 40-50 pounds each, you can have a tour guide show you around the highlands with a small group of about 15 people. The Highlands is a very large area and these tours are a great way to get introduced to a place you'll likely want to return to. The Highlands is full of amazing hiking and walking if you have an interest in outdoor activities. 




Whatever you decide to see or do in Scotland, the country is truly one of the most beautiful places I've seen. And if you're interested in the arts and free comedy shows, then you won't regret visiting Edinburgh for the Fringe Festival!