Piggy street art - in Bath

As we wandered round Bath at the weekend, I kept noticing these colourful painted pigs which are part of a street art project in Bath, called King Bladud's pigs.


Apparently in Once-upon-a-time-land, there lived a prince called Bladud who contracted leprosy on his travels. Realising that he couldn't inherit the kingdom, he left home with his herd of pigs who also caught the disease.


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Dressing up in the Fashion Museum - in Bath

My sister came to visit this wet Bank Holiday Monday, so we decided to visit the Museum of Fashion in Bath. You can find it on the north side of Bath, near the Royal Crescent and The Circus, where you can see some of the grandest Georgian houses of the city.

It's housed in a building that was once the Assembly rooms of Bath where fashionable society gathered in the 1800s to dance, drink tea and socialise and were imortalised in the novels of Jane Austen. There's the Ballroom which is also used for concerts and weddings, so not always open, the Tea Room and the Octagon and Card rooms, which is now house the café. The chandelier in the Tea room was under restoration when we visited - all the chandeliers were enormous. You don't need to pay to take a look at these rooms, if they are open, but the Fashion Museum costs £7.

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The view from the dome of St Peter's - in Rome

I visited the dome of St Peter's one afternoon with my mother - we had to queue for about half an hour to pay €7 to take the lift to the bottom of the dome. From there you go through a door and up a ramp into the base of the dome where you are close up with the wonderful mosaics and can look straight down into the basilica below or up at the rich decoration on the inside.

It was great to be so close to the mosaics - they looked so fresh that they could have been created yesterday. There were these coats of arms above the doorways;

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Eating out in Trastavere - in Rome

It all started so promisingly. The Patron was charming and spoke good English. We only serve fresh food he said, but it was lunchtime and we only wanted a sandwich. I consulted the guidebook - it was recommended as a good value, family run Trattoria.

So we made a reservation for the following evening when we were shown into the dining room at the back - these small places are always much bigger than they appear from the street. The room was pleasant with many attractive paintings including some large, colourful Roman scenes filling the wall.

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Chiesa Santa Maria in Trastavere - in Rome

There must be so many lovely churches in Rome, but Chiesa Santa Maria is close to my idea of perfection. It was one of the first churches in which masses were openly celebrated in Rome and there has been a church here since 340 AD although the present church was built on the site in the 1140s.

It's in main piazza of the old Trastavere quarter where you can stop for an after-dinner gelato in the evening when the piazza comes alive with street entertainers, bars and restaurants.

This article has moved to my new travel blog - read it at Heatheronhertravels.com