Virtual Tour of Bath Abbey (no refreshments, sorry)

Today's Briticism: The meal you're cooking isn't "on the stove", it's "on the hob"


I just want to start this post off by saying how wonderful all the fellow American students are whom I've met so far on this trip. Deep, intelligent discussions about cinematic greats such as Lord of the Rings, Pride and Prejudice and A Very Potter Musical are quite common, and almost every single person is a Harry Potter nerd.  Plus everyone is so nice and so easy to get along with, especially the girls I live with. There. Sentimental moment over. They're all great :)


Today we got to tour Bath Abbey, which is just as beautiful on the inside as it is on the outside. We started the tour off with some delicious desserts, but unfortunately those can't be replicated for the virtual tour. So grab some Vanilla Wafers or something and here we go...


The current Bath Abbey is actually the third Bath Abbey that we know to have existed. The history of the first one is pretty vague. The only thing we really know about it is that Kind Edgar, the first king of England, was crowned there a billion years ago or something. One of the many stained glass windows depicts the historic event:

There are many many people buried underneath the Abbey, one of which is the wife of William Waller, one of the leaders of the Parlimentarian faction during the English Civil War. Waller had planned to be buried beside his wife, and had a statue of himself placed next to the statue of her, as well as an empty epitaph plate placed over their ceramic likenesses. Unfortunately, Waller died in London and wasn't buried in Bath after all. When Waller's enemies came to Bath, they smashed in the face of the statue and cut off its right hand. The statue and the empty epitaph still rest there today along with the body of Mrs. Waller:

His muscles must be cramped by now...

This is an American flag given to the people of Bath after WWII. The American Navy was actually based in Britain during the war, and the Admiral of the British Navy was in Bath. It's a token of friendship between the two armies. Kind of nice to see a little bit of home:

There were so many beautiful windows throughout the Abbey...

...it was kind of like a little, brighter version of Notre Dame. So incredibly beautiful. We didn't get the full tour because we didn't have enough time, and we didn't get to go to the tower (which apparently has the best views of Bath), but I hope to go back again soon so I can see the whole thing. You can practically feel the history all around you in this city. I've seen and learned so much just over the past few days. Can't wait for the next few months!