Roamin' in the Roman Baths

"Water is Best"  It's a slogan for Victorian Bath, England, but feels like a modern exercise mantra.

Roman sites are some of my favorites here in Great Britain.  I was particularly excited to bring the kids to the Roman Baths at Bath because I have fond memories of touring them in the past.  Luckily the audioguide has an adult channel, kids channel and a special commentary by comedic author Bill Bryson.  It was less funny than you'd think, but still interesting.  They also provided a "find the artifact" sticker game that the kids really enjoyed.

I love the design of this museum.  They do a great job of putting the walkways around the archaeological features so you can really get a sense of what a walk through the baths was like.  It's dark and humid.  You really feel it, looking at the bones of the ancient complex.

This would have been covered in ancient times, so the algae are an unwelcome side effect of the open air plan of the museum today.  Even looking like this, they offer drinks of the water with your ticket and maintain vehemently that the water is pure, drinkable and full of healthful minerals.  With my travel-sensitive stomach, I passed on the sample.

The girls tried, unsuccessfully, to convince the ducks to swim over to us.

Showing off their completed sticker project books.

Last display--the hypocaust system.  It shows what was underneath the floors--permitting heated air to move through the subflooring and heat the rooms above.  Clever, those Romans.