I don’t want you to think that I covered everything about the Roman Baths Museum-that is by no means possible in a short blog-the exquisite museum has much, much more to offer-I hope I whetted your appetite just a tiny bit.
As promised, there is more. Right next door to the Roman Baths Museum is the Pump Room, and what a room it is. It was the center of the ton-the social glittery whirl of the best English society-since 1706. It is, for lack of a better explanation a tea room, albeit very grand, it is still a tea room and to this day the wait staff will greet you in appropriate period garb and serve you tea, scones, Bath buns and much more. The room is truly magnificent, huge and elaborate with daunting chandeliers hanging from the very high ceilings above you.
If that is not enough, you may be entertained by the Pump Room Trio, the oldest musical ensemble in the country. The tradition of the music has continued through the ages, so while sipping your delicious tea and munching on the scone covered with clotted cream and strawberry jam, you may feel you have traveled back in time and Jane Austen is sitting at the next table, maybe even James Boswell, or the many other great literary figures over the centuries.
On one side of the room there is a fountain that still to this day spouts the sulphurous water and for a fee you can sample its unique warm taste, unique as in really bad. The fountain standing on a pediment with an inscription that reads ‘Water is Best’ is still a popular stop by visitors, before or after the elegantly served tea. It was considered a very healthy drink, and people would come to Bath ‘to take the waters’.
The Pump Room is a stop not be missed in a town that has been designated a World Heritage Site in 1987.
More Bath next week, yes of course there is more, but I’ll cover just the ‘must see’ the rest you will have to discover for yourself and maybe buy A Hotel in Bath when it comes out, but first I have to finish it.
One more thing, when I’m done with Bath, guess what, I’ll write a bit about Paris. Well, after all it is the very early beginning of the travel planning season, I probably should have started in Paris first, but my center of concentration at the moment has been on Bath.
Till next Time,
Margot Justes
A Hotel in Paris ISBN 978-1-59080-534-3
Art brought her to Paris, then a stranger’s death changes her life.
Missing ISBN 978-1-59080-611 1- coming February 2009
www.mjustes.com
available on amazon.com
Sunday, January 18, 2009
More Bath by Margot Justes
I don’t want you to think that I covered everything about the Roman Baths Museum-that is by no means possible in a short blog-the exquisite museum has much, much more to offer-I hope I whetted your appetite just a tiny bit.
As promised, there is more. Right next door to the Roman Baths Museum is the Pump Room, and what a room it is. It was the center of the ton-the social glittery whirl of the best English society-since 1706. It is, for lack of a better explanation a tea room, albeit very grand, it is still a tea room and to this day the wait staff will greet you in appropriate period garb and serve you tea, scones, Bath buns and much more. The room is truly magnificent, huge and elaborate with daunting chandeliers hanging from the very high ceilings above you.
If that is not enough, you may be entertained by the Pump Room Trio, the oldest musical ensemble in the country. The tradition of the music has continued through the ages, so while sipping your delicious tea and munching on the scone covered with clotted cream and strawberry jam, you may feel you have traveled back in time and Jane Austen is sitting at the next table, maybe even James Boswell, or the many other great literary figures over the centuries.
On one side of the room there is a fountain that still to this day spouts the sulphurous water and for a fee you can sample its unique warm taste, unique as in really bad. The fountain standing on a pediment with an inscription that reads ‘Water is Best’ is still a popular stop by visitors, before or after the elegantly served tea. It was considered a very healthy drink, and people would come to Bath ‘to take the waters’.
The Pump Room is a stop not be missed in a town that has been designated a World Heritage Site in 1987.
More Bath next week, yes of course there is more, but I’ll cover just the ‘must see’ the rest you will have to discover for yourself and maybe buy A Hotel in Bath when it comes out, but first I have to finish it.
One more thing, when I’m done with Bath, guess what, I’ll write a bit about Paris. Well, after all it is the very early beginning of the travel planning season, I probably should have started in Paris first, but my center of concentration at the moment has been on Bath.
Till next Time,
Margot Justes
A Hotel in Paris ISBN 978-1-59080-534-3
Art brought her to Paris, then a stranger’s death changes her life.
Missing ISBN 978-1-59080-611 1- coming February 2009
www.mjustes.com
available on amazon.com
I don’t want you to think that I covered everything about the Roman Baths Museum-that is by no means possible in a short blog-the exquisite museum has much, much more to offer-I hope I whetted your appetite just a tiny bit.
As promised, there is more. Right next door to the Roman Baths Museum is the Pump Room, and what a room it is. It was the center of the ton-the social glittery whirl of the best English society-since 1706. It is, for lack of a better explanation a tea room, albeit very grand, it is still a tea room and to this day the wait staff will greet you in appropriate period garb and serve you tea, scones, Bath buns and much more. The room is truly magnificent, huge and elaborate with daunting chandeliers hanging from the very high ceilings above you.
If that is not enough, you may be entertained by the Pump Room Trio, the oldest musical ensemble in the country. The tradition of the music has continued through the ages, so while sipping your delicious tea and munching on the scone covered with clotted cream and strawberry jam, you may feel you have traveled back in time and Jane Austen is sitting at the next table, maybe even James Boswell, or the many other great literary figures over the centuries.
On one side of the room there is a fountain that still to this day spouts the sulphurous water and for a fee you can sample its unique warm taste, unique as in really bad. The fountain standing on a pediment with an inscription that reads ‘Water is Best’ is still a popular stop by visitors, before or after the elegantly served tea. It was considered a very healthy drink, and people would come to Bath ‘to take the waters’.
The Pump Room is a stop not be missed in a town that has been designated a World Heritage Site in 1987.
More Bath next week, yes of course there is more, but I’ll cover just the ‘must see’ the rest you will have to discover for yourself and maybe buy A Hotel in Bath when it comes out, but first I have to finish it.
One more thing, when I’m done with Bath, guess what, I’ll write a bit about Paris. Well, after all it is the very early beginning of the travel planning season, I probably should have started in Paris first, but my center of concentration at the moment has been on Bath.
Till next Time,
Margot Justes
A Hotel in Paris ISBN 978-1-59080-534-3
Art brought her to Paris, then a stranger’s death changes her life.
Missing ISBN 978-1-59080-611 1- coming February 2009
www.mjustes.com
available on amazon.com
Saturday, January 10, 2009
The Roman Baths Museum by Margot Justes
Many years ago, I was in London and took one of those standard day tours to Stonehenge and Bath. I expected to be delighted and see a few things I haven’t yet seen and I expected to learn something new–one of the many reasons I love to travel.
On this trip, the bus rolled along the lovely serene English countryside and the first glimpse of the enormous stones was surreal. They are magnificent, and back then you could actually go up close and personal as the saying goes. We reached Bath and had a measly few hours in a town where the Roman Baths Museum alone would have kept me busy for many hours. I swore someday I would come back.
My first book is set in Paris, because having lived there I have a great affinity for the city and always will. With the realization that I was going to write book two, Bath was the instant choice. That meant a return visit, this time a few days, not a few hours.
The second time, we took the train from Paddington station in London and two lovely hours later we were in Bath, this time for a few days rather than a few hours.
There are legends that say Bath was founded by a Celtic Prince in 863 BC, he suffered from leprosy and the healing waters cured him. Can you imagine the history?
As far as the Romans were concerned, cleanliness was next to godliness-hence the popularity of the baths. In 65 AD the invading Romans built a grand spa. Formidable Roman engineering skills allowed them to build a reservoir using lead-lined stone around the spring, thus supplying water to the baths. The Sacred Spring (one of my favorite sites in the museum) has an overflow system, which even today 2,000 years later still pumps the surplus water to the Avon River.
I spent quite a bit of time standing in front of the Sacred Spring, the hot moist steam reaching your face is far better than any facial, while the soothing and mesmerizing falling water allows the imagination to take root in your senses.
Buried and built over for many years, the baths were discovered and excavated in 1880. The steeped in history museum is simply truly amazing and gives you a remarkable sense of times past and through the ages to the present.
More Bath next week.
Till next Saturday,
Margot Justes
A Hotel in Paris ISBN 978-1-59080-534-3
Art brought her to Paris, then a stranger’s death changes her life.
Missing ISBN 978-1-59080-611 1- coming February 2009
www.mjustes.com
available on amazon.com
On this trip, the bus rolled along the lovely serene English countryside and the first glimpse of the enormous stones was surreal. They are magnificent, and back then you could actually go up close and personal as the saying goes. We reached Bath and had a measly few hours in a town where the Roman Baths Museum alone would have kept me busy for many hours. I swore someday I would come back.
My first book is set in Paris, because having lived there I have a great affinity for the city and always will. With the realization that I was going to write book two, Bath was the instant choice. That meant a return visit, this time a few days, not a few hours.
The second time, we took the train from Paddington station in London and two lovely hours later we were in Bath, this time for a few days rather than a few hours.
There are legends that say Bath was founded by a Celtic Prince in 863 BC, he suffered from leprosy and the healing waters cured him. Can you imagine the history?
As far as the Romans were concerned, cleanliness was next to godliness-hence the popularity of the baths. In 65 AD the invading Romans built a grand spa. Formidable Roman engineering skills allowed them to build a reservoir using lead-lined stone around the spring, thus supplying water to the baths. The Sacred Spring (one of my favorite sites in the museum) has an overflow system, which even today 2,000 years later still pumps the surplus water to the Avon River.
I spent quite a bit of time standing in front of the Sacred Spring, the hot moist steam reaching your face is far better than any facial, while the soothing and mesmerizing falling water allows the imagination to take root in your senses.
Buried and built over for many years, the baths were discovered and excavated in 1880. The steeped in history museum is simply truly amazing and gives you a remarkable sense of times past and through the ages to the present.
More Bath next week.
Till next Saturday,
Margot Justes
A Hotel in Paris ISBN 978-1-59080-534-3
Art brought her to Paris, then a stranger’s death changes her life.
Missing ISBN 978-1-59080-611 1- coming February 2009
www.mjustes.com
available on amazon.com
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Resolutions Aplenty or Maybe Not by Margot Justes
The New Year is upon us-nothing like stating the obvious-and I try to stay away from resolutions, since they do not last long, so what is the point. But, the one resolution I fully intend to adhere to is writing and this is a no brainer since I love to write.
What’s not to love, total solitude in my own little haven, no pesky phone, no television, just me, my computer and words on paper well at least on the screens, but sometimes on paper. I have a comfy couch where I do occasionally write on a legal pad, dialog works well this way, I can close my eyes and imagine the characters in action.
I create my own little world where I can take out my frustrations on potential victims, create the perfect hero and heroine, travel and do exactly as I please.
I’m late finishing A Hotel in Bath and have sworn to finish by end of first quarter, and have an idea and location for book three-Venice-and that means a trip to Venice this year.
So stay tuned for more travel tips on Bath, just in case you are heading to England this year and travel preparations for Venice this fall.
Till next Saturday,
Margot Justes
A Hotel in Paris ISBN 978-1-59080-534-3
Art brought her to Paris, then a stranger’s death changes her life.
Missing ISBN 978-1-59080-611 1- coming February 2009
www.mjustes.com
available on amazon.com
What’s not to love, total solitude in my own little haven, no pesky phone, no television, just me, my computer and words on paper well at least on the screens, but sometimes on paper. I have a comfy couch where I do occasionally write on a legal pad, dialog works well this way, I can close my eyes and imagine the characters in action.
I create my own little world where I can take out my frustrations on potential victims, create the perfect hero and heroine, travel and do exactly as I please.
I’m late finishing A Hotel in Bath and have sworn to finish by end of first quarter, and have an idea and location for book three-Venice-and that means a trip to Venice this year.
So stay tuned for more travel tips on Bath, just in case you are heading to England this year and travel preparations for Venice this fall.
Till next Saturday,
Margot Justes
A Hotel in Paris ISBN 978-1-59080-534-3
Art brought her to Paris, then a stranger’s death changes her life.
Missing ISBN 978-1-59080-611 1- coming February 2009
www.mjustes.com
available on amazon.com
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Spending Time by Margot Justes
I have not turned my computer on in several days-I spent time with family and friends. Our annual party was a success, but plans for my time at home veered off course-snow, a lot of snow and I’m a coward when it comes to driving or for that matter, riding in a car when there is ice overlaid by snow. It was a perfect winter wonderland scene, huge snow flakes gently falling on an already white canvas. Best appreciated in a warm, comfortable home, while sipping eggnog with a touch of rum.
We had plans to go downtown to the Art Institute-we had plans on Tuesday and Wednesday-but nature intervened, so we stayed in the area. But all was not lost, we went to breakfast Wednesday, shopped a bit, stood in line for 30 minutes at Dick’s Sporting Goods-it was worth it-we were entertained by a man standing behind us, who kept giving us odds on whether it was faster to get out of line and go to another store in an entirely different mall…
We finally made it to the Art Institute on Friday-there is an incredible Tapestry exhibit that runs through January 4, 2009. Four Centuries of European Tapestries-all in glorious color and incredible detail. Simply exquisite! Brilliant. Dazzling! Even if your tastes do not run toward tapestries, this exhibit is well worth seeing, the work is magnificent, and the attention to detail is absolute perfection.
Have a Happy and Healthy New Year!
Till next Saturday,
Margot Justes
A Hotel in Paris ISBN 978-1-59080-534-3
Art brought her to Paris, then a stranger’s death changes her life.
Missing ISBN 978-1-59080-611 1
www.mjustes.com
available on amazon.com
We had plans to go downtown to the Art Institute-we had plans on Tuesday and Wednesday-but nature intervened, so we stayed in the area. But all was not lost, we went to breakfast Wednesday, shopped a bit, stood in line for 30 minutes at Dick’s Sporting Goods-it was worth it-we were entertained by a man standing behind us, who kept giving us odds on whether it was faster to get out of line and go to another store in an entirely different mall…
We finally made it to the Art Institute on Friday-there is an incredible Tapestry exhibit that runs through January 4, 2009. Four Centuries of European Tapestries-all in glorious color and incredible detail. Simply exquisite! Brilliant. Dazzling! Even if your tastes do not run toward tapestries, this exhibit is well worth seeing, the work is magnificent, and the attention to detail is absolute perfection.
Have a Happy and Healthy New Year!
Till next Saturday,
Margot Justes
A Hotel in Paris ISBN 978-1-59080-534-3
Art brought her to Paris, then a stranger’s death changes her life.
Missing ISBN 978-1-59080-611 1
www.mjustes.com
available on amazon.com
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Don't Give Up the Day Job by Margot Justes
The holiday season is fast approaching and I noticed in my own every day life that the pressure to finish everything is on. There is the shopping, baking, cooking and cleaning to get the house ready for our annual get together with friends and family, and of course my day job; the one that actually provides a regular pay check.
But there is also the life of the writer and the functions that have be attended to get my name out there-where ever out there is.
Today was just such a day. The early morning saw me at my local Jewel, but before the Jewel, I made coffee, had a few cups while I got ready and of course the coffee made the rest of the day seem possible. At any rate, by eight o’clock I was at the Jewel picking up things I’d need for later this afternoon.
Got back from the Jewel and headed to the author part of my life and the Des Plaines Library for a six hour function with fellow authors June Sproat, Morgan Mandel and Carrie Lofty, then back home, where I made fudge and tasted it several times to make sure it was perfect. It was.
Also rum balls were on the schedule today, now those I had to taste frequently, adding rum is tricky. You have to mix and add more and taste, and mix-well you get the drift. I just had to make sure there was enough rum in said balls. Very tricky. And very tasty. There will be another tasting after I post this blob, oops blog…time to post.
Till next Saturday,
Margot Justes
A Hotel in Paris ISBN 978-1-59080-534-3
Art brought her to Paris, then a stranger’s death changes her life.
Missing ISBN 978-1-59080-611 1
www.mjustes.com
available on amazon.com
But there is also the life of the writer and the functions that have be attended to get my name out there-where ever out there is.
Today was just such a day. The early morning saw me at my local Jewel, but before the Jewel, I made coffee, had a few cups while I got ready and of course the coffee made the rest of the day seem possible. At any rate, by eight o’clock I was at the Jewel picking up things I’d need for later this afternoon.
Got back from the Jewel and headed to the author part of my life and the Des Plaines Library for a six hour function with fellow authors June Sproat, Morgan Mandel and Carrie Lofty, then back home, where I made fudge and tasted it several times to make sure it was perfect. It was.
Also rum balls were on the schedule today, now those I had to taste frequently, adding rum is tricky. You have to mix and add more and taste, and mix-well you get the drift. I just had to make sure there was enough rum in said balls. Very tricky. And very tasty. There will be another tasting after I post this blob, oops blog…time to post.
Till next Saturday,
Margot Justes
A Hotel in Paris ISBN 978-1-59080-534-3
Art brought her to Paris, then a stranger’s death changes her life.
Missing ISBN 978-1-59080-611 1
www.mjustes.com
available on amazon.com
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Real and Reel Science on CSI MIami by Margot Justes
I missed last week’s blog, another one of those weekends where real life took over, and I wound up with a miserable cold-which leads me to this blog.
I actually spent some time watching TV-one show-CSI Miami-I was asked to watch because my daughter (the scientist) actually participated in the research for one of the instruments they used; brand new, very exciting research with incredible potential, desorption electrospray ionization or DESI for short.
The instrument can identify and find fingerprints buried beneath a multitude of others, it can identify the chemical signature and can also identify what an individual recently handled. I’d say that’s pretty cool.
I normally don’t watch the show because the Technicolor is just so, how shall I put it
-colorful…I’ve been there, reality is far more timid. But I appreciate the fact that they gave real science a boost in a reel world.
One other show I watched this week is Numbers, I like it. The math is complicated, but math makes the world go round, so I listen and try to understand and while it’s being explained I grasp it. Really I do. But my comprehension is very short-lived as soon as he’s done explaining, I’m done understanding-but again the science is real. Numbers also mentioned DESI, this one I wasn’t expecting, and was delighted and proud that my daughter had a hand in the research.
Till next Saturday,
Margot Justes
A Hotel in Paris ISBN 978-1-59080-534-3
Art brought her to Paris, then a stranger’s death changes her life.
Missing ISBN 978-1-59080-611 1
www.mjustes.com
available on amazon.com
I actually spent some time watching TV-one show-CSI Miami-I was asked to watch because my daughter (the scientist) actually participated in the research for one of the instruments they used; brand new, very exciting research with incredible potential, desorption electrospray ionization or DESI for short.
The instrument can identify and find fingerprints buried beneath a multitude of others, it can identify the chemical signature and can also identify what an individual recently handled. I’d say that’s pretty cool.
I normally don’t watch the show because the Technicolor is just so, how shall I put it
-colorful…I’ve been there, reality is far more timid. But I appreciate the fact that they gave real science a boost in a reel world.
One other show I watched this week is Numbers, I like it. The math is complicated, but math makes the world go round, so I listen and try to understand and while it’s being explained I grasp it. Really I do. But my comprehension is very short-lived as soon as he’s done explaining, I’m done understanding-but again the science is real. Numbers also mentioned DESI, this one I wasn’t expecting, and was delighted and proud that my daughter had a hand in the research.
Till next Saturday,
Margot Justes
A Hotel in Paris ISBN 978-1-59080-534-3
Art brought her to Paris, then a stranger’s death changes her life.
Missing ISBN 978-1-59080-611 1
www.mjustes.com
available on amazon.com
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