We’ve been traveling a heck of a lot recently. Although, I supposed any amount of traveling would seem like a lot when you have a seven month old in tow. A few weeks ago, we were in the U.S. for Passover and to visit family (I haven’t made time to blog about these adventures yet, sorry). And last weekend, to celebrate Jan’s birthday, we went to Andorra and spent a couple of days at the Caldea.
Neither of us had ever been to a real spa before and the Caldea is the most famous spa in Andorra. Filled with jacuzzis, lagoons, Indo-Roman baths, saunas, steam rooms, and more types of massages than you could shake a stick at, this place was exactly what these worn out parents needed. The only bummer was that Jan and I had to go in separately since someone had to stay outside with Emily. It’s a shame, too, since this was the perfect romantic atmosphere. Oh well, next time.
On the first day, we each had a lovely three hour treatment. My favorite parts were definitely the eucalyptus filled Hammam steam room and the Roman baths. There were a bunch of people chilling out in the hot section of the Roman baths which are maintained at 36 degrees C (97 F), but nobody dared to enter the cold section which was kept at 14 degrees C (57 F). I must have spent a half an hour there alternating between eight minutes in hot and one minute in cold. And it was damn cold! Mind over matter. It just made the hot seem that much hotter afterwards 🙂
Jan had a super-special four hour birthday treatment the next day including the ever popular Traditional Thai massage. Emily and I made the most of the day by strolling up and down the high street window shopping for all of the tempting tax-free goodies on offer. It took all the strength I had not to walk away with a Nintendo Wii. Luckily we passed by some beautiful fountains were Emily and I hung out and ate some bananas for a couple of hours. She was totally fascinated by the fountains. She loved it when I held her over them and she was able to reach out and touch the water. She found it so amazing that she had to keep turning to me and smiling as if to say, “Did you see that?! I touched it! And it was wet!!!”. It doesn’t take much to impress her yet.
Emily, getting used to the good life
in her four star crib
And that was our weekend. Batteries recharged and bodies rejuvenated, we’re almost feeling normal again after a wonderful yet exhausting trip to the US – it took Emily an entire week to get over the jet lag when we came back to Barcelona! Next stop: Jan is taking Emily and me to Paris in two weeks to celebrate my birthday. Let them eat cake!
Sounds like a blast. Since the job is secure (at least for now) I would have broken down and gotten the wii.
If I had broken down and gotten the Wii, I’m sure the next thing to break down would be my job and then my marriage. It’s probably safer this way.
How is the solid food thing going for Emily?
The short answer, Brian my friend, is well. The solid food thing is going well. For the long answer, you’re just gonna have to wait another few days for the birthday summary 🙂