Weather or not

I believe that during our first month in Bath we have witnessed an unprecedented event: six days of sunshine in a row!

Once we saw the weather report for last weekend we planned two fun-filled days outside. On Saturday we headed to the Avon Valley Wildlife Adventure Park. Let's just say... the Brits' standards for both "wildlife" and "adventure" are considerably lower than in the U.S. or even the Loire Valley. It didn't help that as one of the first families to arrive at 9:57 a.m., we began our stroll through the park before most of the animals had awakened for the day. And yes, the adventure was more of a two-mile nature hike past exotic mammals like... goats. And Hereford cows. Oh, yeah, and this guy:

Yeah. I'm a Parisian out of butter over here.

Actually, as we learned, there have been wallabies in England since 1850 - two distinct herds of them. And three of them - Charles, William and Harry, that's right - spend their days at the Avon Valley Wildlife Adventure park. The day picked up when the boat pond opened and Jeff rowed us around while Josie literally rocked the boat, sending my blood pressure through the roof multiple times. We got to pet a goat and a donkey (Josie: "Hi Donkey, I'm Josie. What's your name?" See previous post) and then headed back for lunch. Then, the piece de resistance of nearly every UK attraction - and a reason to love this country - the "soft play area." Aha - finally, the "adventure." Look at my little mountain climber!

After a nap and a quick trip out to the Apple Store, it was.... DATE NIGHT. That's right, the Saturday night out returns! We found a lovely girl who lives - conveniently - just two doors away, to sit for us, at least through the summer. And we chose to dine - safely - just 10 doors away at a lovely French/Mediterranean place about which I had read great things. And after all the terrible things we've heard - most recently and entertainingly from Ludo on Top Chef Master - about English cuisine, it was really good! I had a chicken terrine and turbot and Jeff had a shrimp appetizer and lasagne. So as not to return embarrassingly early, we took a stroll through town, running into a "hen party," whatever that is (the pre-party you hit before the Sadie Hawkins dance?) composed of about 167 Marilyn Monroes:


See what I mean? This is my kind of town!

Sunday was another gorgeous day, so I hit the market early to pack a picnic lunch, then we all headed to Parade Park - a beautiful spot right on the river. The sun was shining, a cool breeze was blowing off the Avon, and admission to the park (free for residents) gets you a comfy lawn chair to boot!
There are few things the Rothman-Davidsons love more than a picnic, and it was a perfect afternoon.

Tomorrow is the start of the International Music Festival here in Bath, so we have lots of concerts and fun outdoor events to hit in the next week. I'm also taking Josie to her first play at the Children's Theater here. Then we're going to get out and explore the countryside during what it turns out is a long weekend for us as well as you Yanks (gotta identify and then plan ahead for these "bank holidays").

Jeff says "cheerio" as we catch up on our enormous cache of DVRed shows. Please tell me Crystal Bowersox wins American Idol or I really will have wasted three months of my life.