Saturday, April 12, 2008

A day at a Belgian Spa

Lut and I set off on another of our Belgian adventures yesterday ... this time it was a much-needed session at a spa.

I was a little concerned about embracing this European style of spa and massage, not overly-excited about pulling on a brand new swimsuit for the day. My concern reached Def-con 5 when we arrived in the changing room just as the man removed his trousers.

Sigh, I'm an adult but undressing with strangers just isn't my favourite thing.

He left and I do believe I might have managed the fastest change in the history of shared dressing-rooms.

We slipped into our toweling robes and set forth on the tour, clutching our towels while slopping along in our sandals. Be aware that although we paid for a package, the towels, robes and sandals were a cost that surprised us at the end of the day. Next time we'll be taking our own.

That said, it was a day that left us deliciously boneless and relaxed.
We lounged on heated tile chairs, we swam in the heated outdoor pool twice and warmed up in the hot dry sauna room. We spent just two minutes in the steam sauna thanks to me. I had suffered from croup as a small child and the cure was the steam-filled bathroom. The sauna brought back memories of struggling to breathe way back when.

There was even the choice of 3 jacuzzi-type baths for a while but best of the day was surely the massage.

We had opted for the face and foot massage and it was sublime. As the masseuse moved from my face to my feet, I quietly commented that my friend would imagine I was dead, due to the silence. Even my cough went away for a while.

A pale older naked couple wandered by every now and again, giving the experience of sharing the compact very modern space an edgy European film festival kind of feeling.

We finished the day with our men and a sumptuous Belgian meal at De heksenketel, celebrating the fact that Maurice and Lut had been together for 10 years.

Proficiaat to two of our favourite Belgians!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I betcha you were glad your masseuse started with your face and then your feet, because the other way around would be a whole lot less appealing. :P

Good to see you have had a relaxing day.

Anonymous said...

Pampering ... I did indeed see one who needed his pamper very badly! But it was nice, wasn't it?
I'll have to think of a different adventure for next time ... anyone who has an idea?
See you!
Lut

Di Mackey said...

Hmmm, hadn't thought of that, Manic :)

It was relaxing, lots of laughter too.

Let's see if Inge comes up with something, Lut but all ideas are welcome.

Anonymous said...

Manic makes an excellent point.

I'm glad you had a lovely time and the dressing room story reminds me of my spa experience.

As for the steam sauna--I hate them. I always feel suffocated by the steam. I'm a Jacuzzi Grrrl, and if someone rubs my back, I'll follow them home like a friendly cat.

Di Mackey said...

Coughing fit followed the laughter brought on by the image of you following the masseuse home ...