fancy weekend

What a relaxing weekend! Mark sent me (and his friend Micah sent his wife Jennifer) to this super-fancy Inn and spa in Connecticut called the Mayflower. The Spa was so gorgeous that I thought I was part of a movie set. Every last detail was beautiful, and perfect. The artwork was lovely, and had a very meditative feel. Among a few wonderful treatments, I had a hot stone massage, which was definitely the best massage I've ever had!!! I loved the heat and intensity of the stones. The entire place was so peaceful and quiet. I felt like I was one of the only people there, when there must have been quite a few. The amenities were gorgeous, including a beautiful indoor heated pool and a separate whirlpool room, both of which I had all to myself one morning. There was also a 'thermal room' that was basically like a steam room, without the steam. the heat came from the floor and walls, and made everything radiant and warm. it was very comforting. The staff there was pleasant and completely friendly. not stuffy as you would expect for such an exclusive spa. The grounds around the Spa (and the Inn) were perfectly manicured. I don't know too much about flower species, but apparently there were a few special types, and some rare ones as well. I wish my phone took better pictures of everything, but I'm glad I was able to get any at all. These pictures do not do any justice to the beauty of this place.

The Inn (which is next to the Spa, and has the same owner- but you'd never know it), which I did not take any pictures of, is a typical fancy New England Inn. There was art and antiques everywhere. Loads of chintz on the linens and curtains (not really my thing), and everything had that snooty old-fashioned feel. But the room was very clean and pretty, and the bed was comfortable and had very soft linens. The towels were a bit scratchy though, which made no sense to me. There were fresh flowers in the bathroom, and even a gas fireplace, which was fun. The only problem...there was something wrong with an 'actuator' that was above my room, and the first night there it made this horrible high-pitched noise. It was so annoying, that I slept with earplugs and a pillow over my head, and I still heard it. I hardly slept that first night. I complained like crazy, and it was fixed, and my night comped, of course. Service at the Inn was very good, and friendly. But the food in the main dining room was horrible. Lots of flash, and hardly any taste. They tried so hard to make things look fancy, and it just did not work. Sauces had no flavor, and nothing was seasoned properly, which is a shame because they did have quality ingredients. You just could not really taste them. But the fancy people dining there did not seem to have any issues with it. Jennifer and I still had a fabulous time at dinner, especially making fun of the 'upper-crust' types that frequent the place. Breakfast was fine, I ended up having a lovely time sitting on the patio that overlooks a beautiful Shakespeare garden.

I don't feel worthy of such a special weekend. But I do truly appreciate it! I did miss Mark and Hana, but it was wonderful to have some quiet time to sleep (the second night anyway) and relax. I'm trying to retain this peaceful state of mind. It's not easy, since Hana has just developed an awful cold, and her coughs are heart-breaking. She didn't get much sleep last night because she was coughing constantly. But she was so good- She'd wake up, cough, fuss a couple of times, and then go right back to sleep. In exciting Hana news, she is really starting to put words together! This morning when I was mixing her bottle she said BA-BA! and when she sees our cat misha, she says aahh-hhaa, with the right syllables. We have this little baby colors book, and she doesn't recognize the color purple, but whenever you turn to the purple page (there is a baby wearing purple, sitting in a a purple room) she says 'po-po' quite triumphantly. She clearly is doing it because she gets a reaction out of us, but I choose to think that she is brilliant, and can recognize the color :). She's also starting to take her first tentative steps, which is very exciting. I cannot wait to see what the next few days bring!