Roman Baths Museum, Bath, UK

The Roman Baths Museum in Bath is apparently a UNESCO site. So naturally, we couldn't visit Bath without visiting the Baths :)

Look at this stunning view of the Baths ...

A different angle with the magnificent cathedral in the background ...

Some people dressed as in period garb ...

The view from the lower level of the Baths ...

Some pampered residents "taking the waters" as they say ...

Pub Lunch, Bath, UK

A pub lunch is as English as can be, so we thought we'd try it out. We ordered a chicken caesar salad ...

A beef ale pie ...

Fish & chips ...

Assembly Rooms, Bath, UK

The Assembly Rooms were the centre of social activity during Jane Austen's time. This is where they came to attend balls, where mothers and chaperones brought their daughters to Bath for the social season, hoping they would meet all the eligible men in the city, and marry them off to a suitable husband - as captured in Jane Austen's novels set in the Regency era.

The beautiful Tea Room. I like the understated elegance of this Georgian Tea Room. It doesn't have the opulent extravagance of the Versailles, but still has that quiet grandeur. Unfortunately the other rooms were in use, so we weren't able to have a look at them. Despite this, I couldn't help being glad that such a beautiful historic building is still being used and appreciated.

No. 1 Royal Crescent & Royal Crescent, Bath, UK

Having seen beautiful photographs of The Royal Crescent in Bath, UK, I wanted to have a look at the stately architecture in real life. It was designed and built by John Wood in the 18th century. No. 1 Royal Crescent is now a museum wherein virtually everything has been lovingly preserved and restored to how Georgian town houses looked like in their hey day, as well as how the wealthy lived in Bath during that time.

Views from No. 1 Royal Crescent ...

Unfortunately, photographs weren't allowed in the museum, so I couldn't post any here. For pics, look here.

We also walked around The Royal Crescent to look at the stunning architecture of the collection of Georgian townhouses. One of the things I noticed was that the townhouses are not empty but are occupied ... that's what I like about Bath - it's not an empty shell of a city with a wonderful past, but living history. People still live in these beautiful old buildings. People still work here, and the city of Bath is still very much alive.

Beautiful facade ... look at the details on the right of the front door - anyone knows what that metal thing on the right, outside the door, is for?

A renovated basement area of one of the townhouses ... lovely!

Bath, UK - Jane Austen House Museum

Ever since my mom took me on a Trafalgar tour to UK (England, Wales and Scotland) about 20 years ago, I've carried memories of the English countryside with me and always wanted to go back and revisit some of these places on my own time.

This trip, I wanted to show my Hubby the English countryside, which I think is absolutely beautiful. We decided to go to Bath. One of the highlights of Bath (at least to me and all women who adore Pride and Prejudice and Jane Austen) is the Jane Austen House Museum.

Apparently, this house - 40 Gay Street - wasn't the exact house Jane Austen stayed in when she lived in Bath, but it is as close as one can get to it.

(I just adore these glorious blue doors!)

It's actually a really tiny museum ... the basement is where the exhibition is, the street level is where the museum shop is, the second floor is like a reception room where a brief talk on Jane Austen is given, and the third floor is where the Regent-themed tea room is. There are also signs advising patrons to take care when walking along the stairs as the house is over 200 years old.

The pic below is probably one of the most oft seen pics of Jane Austen, but we learnt that that pic was actually drawn by Jane Austen's sister, and it sadly wasn't the most well drawn portrait of Jane Austen. It was said that it didn't accurately capture Jane Austen's essence. In the pic, she looks melancholy but apparently she was actually a very lively person.

As for this silhouette, it is "supposedly" one of Jane Austen. We soon learnt that there is actually very little known about Jane Austen and her life. Even the illness she suffered before she died at age 41 was a mystery. I guess that's partly why this museum is so tiny.

Some idea of how they used to dress during Jane Austen's time ... I thought it was especially charming that the girls in the museum and shop were all dressed in this period costumes. There was even this guy dressed in a top hat ... very Pride & Prejudice style. We thought he really looked the part :) In addition, all the staff in the museum were very cheerful and helpful. A real delight!

Paddington Station, London

On our way to Bath, England, we had to take the national rail train from Paddington Station, and stumbled upon the Paddington Bear statue! How cute!

Bicester Village Buys, London

So what did I get from Bicester Village you ask? Here's some of my buys from one of the many lovely shops there ....

Cath Kidson bag and pouches! Pretty!!!!

To see what else I got, look here.

Villandry Grand Cafe, Bicester Village, London

On Saturday, we went off for some outlet shopping at Bicester Village. I hadn't expected much from the eateries there cos from our experiences shopping at other outlet malls, food was generally mediocre and overpriced as outlets were usually located in some far away place where one didn't have much of a choice when it came to food. As such, I was pleasantly surprised to find Villandry Grand Cafe served pretty good food!

We had their burger and fries ...

A sundried tomato and peppers fusilli ...

Wild mushroom risotto ...

Chinatown, London

One of the reasons I've been so tardy on updating my blog is cos I was in London the last week or so. We arrived late last Friday, and planned to meet up with a friend who specially came down all the way from Glasgow by train (a 5 hr journey!). She'd been missing Chinese food, and as we all know, Chinese food is best enjoyed with more ppl to share with. So, off we went to Chinatown in London!

There were so many restaurants to choose from, it made deciding on one really difficult. We decided to go with those that had more of an Asian clientele in hopes they had the most authentic Chinese food to meet our needs.

We ordered some seafood hor fun ...

Braised tofu (yum!!!) ...

Char siu (yum!!!!) and roast duck ...

Stir-fried long beans with minced pork and prawns (I think) ... (yum!!!!)

Art Salon Restaurant, Shanghai

My cousin's colleague recommended this very interesting restaurant - Art Salon. It's apparently owned by an artist whose paintings grace the walls. He also handpicked everything in the restaurant, from the tables and chairs to the chopsticks and bowls. Everything is available for purchase.

According to my cousin's colleague, A, the food served here is very authentic Shanghainese. Many of the dishes are actually what her grandmother cooks for her. She recommended trying this interesting tofu dish ... served with their own brewed soya sauce (it seems that the Shanghainese make their own soya sauce rather than buying it off the shelf), and tiny river prawns ... delish!

Cold chicken dish ...

Green bean mashed with salted egg yolks ...

Fried beef ...

Tang Chu Fish ... yum!

Braised pork with egg and squid ... yum! yum!

Stir fried veggies ...

We've been to a few Shanghainese restaurants, but this one really fascinated me. It had so much character, and the food not only looked interesting, but tasted really good as well! I'm fully intending to bring my hubby and other guests here :)