Bath or Ba(r)th, Grass or Gra(r)ss

If you are from Bath, you'll pronounce it 'Barth', we were told. It actually made it easier to explain it to the kids this way as we realised we say 'Bath' for bath time. Raph did ask if there was a place called 'toilet'; I am sure there is. 

So we were here as part of our weekend trip to go to Badminton Horse Trials with JOULES. The Sunday trip round Bath was a bonus of staying in a hotel in the city. It meant we could spend the day wandering before we headed home. 

We stayed at MACDONALD'S BATH SPA HOTEL which was a beautiful hotel, connecting rooms, garden view, fine dining and a pool and thermal pool which was hotter than a bath! It was beautiful and a short walk to the Pultney street which takes you directly into town. 

Our Friday night was brill, we arrived a little late for the kids to swim, so headed straight to dinner. I think this was our very first fine dining experience with the kids. It was so quiet in there apart from the classical music to which Raph even asked "why are we wispering?", "I don't know I replied, we just are!". That said the only couple who were in there at the same time as us were much older, enjoying a dinner together and I suppose I felt instantly guilty that in the whole dining hall they sat us a metre away from them. They quickly made it clear they had no problems with it. Smiling across and being amused by the children as they witnesses their very first theatrical dining experience. It started with the chairs being pulled out by the impeccably dressed waiter. Etta and I then had our napkins put across our knees by him and Etta's face was a picture. She was so taken aback and as he left us with the menu I asked her what she thought and she just said she felt like a princess. Mine and Rob's glances across the table just emphasised how proud we were. They were polite, funny, and really did not let us down. As Etta's ginormous starter came of watermelon and red berries the table across the way exclaimed and laughed as we realised she was in a perfectly white dress and this was a very red plate of food in front of her. I think they liked them as the next morning in the breakfast hall they exchanged waves with us. Fleeting moments in life but still very nice ones!

The pool was a real bonus. We got in there the following morning before the horse trials and we then spent a lot of Sunday in there too. It was easy and a nice place to be. There was even a beautiful outside relaxing area which obviously was popular due to the amazing weather. 

The hotel is a perfect distance from town. Just enough for a nice walk to enjoy the stunning Georgian houses. As we headed over Pultney bridge, we stopped at an Italian restaurant before heading into town. It was incredibly hot, really the kind of day to stay as far away from a town as possible but thanks to a few street performers and an hour long open top bus ride, the kids kept it together! Well, Etta got a much needed power nap on the bus which really helped and after an ice cream we actually headed back for one last swim before driving home. 

Seeing Bath from the bus made it all the more pretty, we saw things we just wouldn't have made it to with the kids on a hot day like that. There is so much history and storytelling behind the city. The architecture and look that they have created all kinda works its way upwards from the city centre. It's like you are in the bottom of the bowl and as you look out of the city its actually built into the hills. It was great to see it this way rather than just getting stuck on the high street. Not that that would have been a problem for me but Anthropologie wouldn't have interested the kids! 

Bath is beautiful and a family friendly city, one that I know I will come back too and one that is beginning to hold some very happy memories for me! (Do you know I did some work there two years ago with Joules? Here is the link: POST 1 and POST 2. Another very special trip!) 


A quick note on what we are wearing:
Raph wore the PETER RABBIT TEE / EAT MY DUST TEE
Etta wore the WHITE STRAWBERRY DRESS / BLUE YAY DRESS

*This post was a product of my sponsored trip to Badminton with Joules.