Relaxing in Bath

Since we did almost everything there is to do in Bath yesterday, today was a slow day. We had one museum left to visit and then random shopping and chocolate buying.  We walked along the river again and saw this great park:

 Then we went to the Holburne Museum which is the first public art museum in Bath. It houses Holburne's collection of art, holds a lot of events, and is a popular venue for weddings. The rich guy whose collection the museum contains, Sir William Holburne, collected art from all over the world. There are Gainsborough paintings, portrait miniatures, Chinese porcelain, furniture and dishes. One of the special exhibits showing now is by a modern artist, Paul Scott, who creates traditional blue patterned tableware with modern additions--for example, a typical English countryside scene has jet planes flying overhead; a picture of cows shows a nuclear power plant in the background.  

The Bridge at the Weir

Then, we spent the afternoon reading and napping and afterwards, went shopping and buying nothing. Since we were bored and it was almost 5:30, we decided to go to church. We have seen announcements for 5:30 Evensong services in every cathedral that we've seen in England. We knew there are 2 songs they always sing so we were under the impression that the service consisted of just two songs. That turned out to be wrong. There were Bible readings, prayers, and other songs, although, thankfully, we were never invited to sing along. The choir was a chamber choir from a boys' school from another town. They were typical high school students--wonderful performers, bored out of their minds for the rest of the service.  The priest was female, though, and there was no sermon. The service lasted around 45 minutes. We decided it's a great way to see these cathedrals without anyone asking you for money since they are "free" to get in but there's a suggested donation to keep them free. The same is true of all the "free" museums--suggested donations and pleas for more money to restore them.

In most places we go, like the Roman Baths here and the museums in London, we often run into school groups. I just love seeing the children in their uniforms--the boys in their suits and ties that identify their schools. I am sure those uniforms make them learn better. They often don't behave better but I'm sure they're saying smart things.