Arrival and Initial Thoughts about Bath!

Hello!

So I finally made it to Bath!

Thankfully, the trip itself was fairly easy. I said goodbye to my Mom and Dad at the airport, and hopped on the plane. It's always hard for me to leave my family, but they made it easy for me by telling me how excited they are for me and how proud they are of me. So thank you, Mom and Dad!

The flight, only being 6 hours, was still the longest flight I have ever been on. I was able to meet up and book the same flight as my friend from St. Mike's, Emily. I'm so happy she was there because the thought of me navigating an airport and going through security and customs alone is a terrifying one. I didn't really sleep at all on the flight, and the movie they showed didn't interest me at all. So needless to say, it seemed like an eternity.

After we landed we had to buy our train ticket from Heathrow to Paddington station (15 mins). The trains themselves are SO much nicer than the ones I am used to (The MBTA really needs to take note). From Paddington, we bought our Rail Cards so that we can save money in the future when buying rail passes, and we also bought our tickets to Bath Spa. After about an hour train ride, we finally arrived in Bath!

Here are pictures of my new home!

I am convinced I am in the best location here. There are 4 apartments in the building, each taking up one floor. I am on the ground level, and I have a single bedroom, my two roommates share a room, we have a kitchen, 2 bathrooms (for only the 3 of us!) and a house commonroom. I had only been in my room for about 10 minutes when I blew a fuse trying to plug in my converter. A great first impression that was! We are above a Greek nightclub so I'm guessing it's going to get noisy, but that's alright considering I only have classes Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays! Yes, I lucked out : ) We are basically in the City Centre so we have the easiest walk and access to our classes, and all of the best spots downtown. Below are the views from my apartment. SO Beautiful!

So, as you can probably already tell, I LOVE BATH. In my opinion, it seems like the perfect city. There are hundreds of restaurants, bars, clubs, gift shops, salons, etc., and in that sense it seems very modern. But there is also so much history. The streets are all cobblestone, the houses are much smaller and older and nearly everywhere you look there is a beautiful sight (and a photo-op : ) I have only been here 3 days but I feel as if I already have a good grasp on where to go, and how to get around. I love that the city is big, but it doesn't feel that overwhelming. The people I have met here have all been friendly and are happy to talk to you and help you find your way. I'm still trying to get used to the fact that people drive on the other side of the rode, and they stop for nobody! I also held up the line at the grocery store yesterday because I was so concerned about using my debit card for the first time that I forgot there was nobody there to bag your groceries (one thing that should not be taken for granted in the US). The food was also a lot pricier even when sticking to the sales. Food shopping and cooking for myself is going to take some getting used to, that's for sure. Overall though, I am so happy here and I think that this program and this city is the perfect fit for me. I also love my roommates and everyone here in the program. We're already making travel plans for the semester and we've compiled a list of things we need to do while we're here!

Thank you for reading!    

Cheerio!

Sara