I am wayyy behind on my blog posts! In the beginning of May I went with some of the other expat ladies to Vichy for a spa weekend. We took the train which was fun in itself for me as it was only the 2nd time I’ve been on a train and we got to sit on these little couches and chat which was nice. Vichy is only about 40 minutes away and the train ride took about the same time as it would by car.
The main idea behind taking this spa trip was for our friend Tracy to have a relaxing weekend before she is due with her 4th baby! When we arrived in Vichy we went to a cafe for lunch and Tracy had a fancy mocktail while a few of us enjoyed flavored iced teas since you don’t see iced tea on many French menus. We then checked into our hotel which had a spa and “Vichy Institute” for skin treatments etc. We all booked different spa treatments and in between our appointments we relaxed in the pool filled with Vichy thermal water, the sauna and the hammam. There was also a selection of herbal teas that we took full advantage of!
I decided to get a full body massage while I was there and that was definitely a different experience than what I had in the US. The massage started off nice and relaxing and the next thing I knew she was karate chopping me, or at least that’s what it felt like! Then, I had to turn and lay on my back which was normal until she took off the sheet and my whole torso was exposed. She proceeded to massage above, below and in between my boobs. That was a little awkward! Overall it was nice and relaxing.
That night we went to dinner at a nice restaurant on the lake called La Rotande. The menu was amazing and very different. One of the things I love about being in France is trying foods that I normally wouldn’t/couldn’t eat back home. I also find it hilarious that restaurants are 100% dog friendly and that in this pretty fancy restaurant someone brought in their dog the size of a bear, that laid by their feet the entire meal. For my appetizer I ordered some kind of escargot dish that had green sauce…I can’t even remember what exactly I ate, nor did I really know what the description was in French but it was delicious! My main course was pork cooked 4 different ways which again was very interesting. We all had dessert and then the waiter came over with a cart full of candies, cookies and chocolates. We couldn’t believe that on top of our dessert we were being served more sugary goodies! There’s no limit as to how many candies you can choose, but I somewhat contained my inner fat kid and chose 3 things. It was one of the best meals I’ve had in France so far and of course took about 3 hours like all French dinners. I must admit, we’ve adjusted pretty well to the later dinner time and the amount of time it takes to eat out at a restaurant!
We spent the night in the hotel and took the train back the next morning.
I had a great time with the ladies and it was wonderful to have break from baby duty! But of course I couldn’t wait to get back to my loves 🙂
The Pawlowski's Go To France 