the only option
6 july 2001

it was friday night and gary came home from oslo exhausted and with the usual sore throat that he gets everytime he travels a lot. i, on the other hand, was feeling extremely housebound since i hadn't been out of amsterdam for about 5 weeks. a real dilemma. we had tossed around the idea of doing a weekend getaway but nothing came up on klm's "click and go" that fit our schedule so i resigned myself to pouting, at the same time feeling guilty that gary was sick and needed to rest. suddenly he said, "i feel like going to a spa; let's find one in holland". the beauty of the internet. we did indeed find one in holland, right next to the german border but it was completely booked for the next night. i was almost back in my sulking state when we discovered one in belgium that was accessible by train. we called, booked a room, and sang a song of glee. it was, after all, the only real solution to meeting both our needs- my itch to travel and gary's wish to sit on his butt and relax all weekend. compromising can be a great thing.

it's much easier to get up at 5am in this land of the grayness when the sun is beaming in before five. we were on the 6:56 train to brussels and ready for our weekend adventure. in just four short hours, we alighted upon chateau limelette, tucked away in the hills right outside the city. this was a great find. it's a charming hotel surrounded by prodigal forest and landscaped with rosebushes, a trickling waterfall, and a romantic aura. the room was one of the best we've been in for the price, roomy and comfy, with glorious windows. they did neglect to tell us on the phone however, that the spa was completely booked for treatments that day and suggested we book three weeks in advance after the fact. i was quite disappointed but pulled out of it when they said we could still use the spa facilities. for a price, you know. and they were able to squeeze me in for a manicure/pedicure later in the afternoon so i was instantly happy again. {i'm so fickle}. so now it was 11:30 and we hadn't eaten breakfast and the hotel restaurant wasn't opening for lunch until noon. when you're hungry, you're hungry, and a half hour is just too long to wait. so we went to the desk and begged for some snacks and they were incredibly accomodating, bringing us breakfast leftovers-croissants, yogurt, bread, cheese, and inviting us to sit at a table. we opted to take it to the room and we were pretty sure they thought we were just a little odd in our state of mid morning starvation.

checking in at the spa, we were given robes and sandals and a tour of the facilities open to us. we could use the pool with sea salts and underwater jets, the whirlpool {hot tub}, the turkish baths, {saunas}, the cocoon room, and the hotel pool, as well as the sundeck. not bad choices and we took full advantage of all of them. we were encouraged to order lunch ahead in the spa dining room, where everyone dines in their robes. how convenient and practical, not having to waste precious spa moments changing into real clothes. it was heaven. the steam room had huge blasts of eucalyptus and in the darkened cocoon room, we lay on water beds with soft, spacey music lulling us into relaxation mode. the weather was dreamy. somehow, i managed to forget to bring sun screen but we covered up and avoided gettting burned. it was really nice to finally wear the bikini we bought way back in africa for the first time. i love swimming and since everyone was doing the spa thing, i had the hotel pool literally to myself and cranked out a few laps. my manicure/pedicure was done by a very nice woman who didn't speak a word of english and since i don't speak a word of french, we just nodded and smiled a lot. aren't they supposed to speak flemish {a form of dutch}, in that country? at 6pm, the spa closed and we wandered through the grounds, had a drink at the bar, and headed to an outdoor table at the restaurant. there were some really unique things on that menu. lobster gazpacho was a specialty, yummy!! by ten o'clock, we were pretty worn out from relaxing all day so it was early lights out for us.

on sunday morning after breakfast, i went to the desk to ask what time check out was and the woman said "whatever time you want". this immediately became our new favorite hotel and we will be going back. not without booking some spa treatments in advance though! in the sunday quiet, we lounged around, working on our crossword puzzle amid the well tended gardens. i felt the need to do more laps and then take a short walk before catching the train. upon leaving, we were quite relaxed. mission accomplished. not for long though. we had smooth travelling until we got to rosendaal, a town in holland but not that close to a'dam. everyone had to get off the train and wait for another connection because there was a problem on the rail line and basically we couldn't get there from here. we marched ourselves across the street to a quaint cafe and had a nice cool drink, trying to hang onto that nice relaxed feeling, staying far away from the rest of the frustrated travellers also trying to map out a new plan. an hour later, we got on a train going to another city, changed there, and finally made it to a'dam. so our 4 hour trip turned into 6 1/2 hours of hot and sweaty frustration. i'm getting slightly better about going with the flow but it's not my strongest point. finally home, we quickly forgot about our delay and recounted our lovely, spontaneous getaway.

gary is now in london and i have another strong urge to get out of town for a few days, despite the fantastic weather we're at long last being blessed with. london is always appealing to me and we're now searching for the right flight. i'm a bit less flexible in my schedule these days as i'm teaching quite a bit at the gyrotonic studio. it's going well for me and i'm even bringing in a little money. i guess you could say i'm working. our current fantasy regarding rome is to wait until october, move to a residenza and look for that ideal apartment. it's too difficult to find something without being there. meantime, we still welcome visitors to our amsterdam digs so if you need a summer getaway.......

tot ziens,

with love, deb