Bath in all her glory

Bath is one of the most well-known cities in England. Its history dates right back to Roman times with the very popular Roman baths a major tourist draw card. Up until now I'm ashamed to say my only experience of Bath was a quick visit to the Roman Baths and the annual shopping pilgrimages we used to take for the great summer sales while I was living in England.

I'd never taken a proper walk around the city - it is so much more than just the main street and baths.

Grandma and Granddad had kindly offered to look after the boys for the day so we could have a day to ourselves, so we sure made the most of it.

After parking at the Park and Ride and taking a bus into town, we walked past the abbey, and then down to Pulteney Bridge and weir which reminded me very much of the bridges in Venice and Florence which also have shops lining the bridge.

The bunting in this side alley made me feel as if I were transported to some quaint French village.

It was wonderful seeing the names of places I used to frequent in my time in England dotted around the city.

We then wandered up towards the famous Circus and Royal Crescent.

The Circus built in the mid 1700's was designed in three equal parts with the centre of the Circus designed to provide a space for theatre or civic functions.

The facades on the townhouses that make up the circus are phenomenal in their detail.

Just a short walk from the Circus is the Royal Crescent, a street of 30 terraced houses laid out in a sweeping semi circle.

Once we took our tourist hats off, the shopping then beckoned. We split up and spent an hour or so wandering the streets before meeting up at 1pm for lunch at Jamie's Italian.

The Jamie Oliver revolution is everywhere in England, and we felt we must take advantage of this one-off opportunity to eat out at one of his restaurants. Although with Jamie's deli right next door providing lighter but no less lovely selections to whet the appetite that also looked equally appealing.

We waited eagerly for our lunch - Mark looks to be nearly chewing off his fingernails in anticipation in this pic.

We weren't disappointed when the meals arrived. Baked Shetland Salmon with lemony ricotta, balsamic roasted veg and a crunchy, zesty salad for me and the best looking pork chop I've ever seen for Mark. The flavours were UH-mazing.

After spending another few hours perusing and spending up at kids Gap (lots of great kids stuff on sale for the boys) and Superdry (my favourite new store!), we drove home accompanied by the glorious sight of the skies clearing after a day of heavy rain showers.