Friday, January 28, 2011
Toxic
I had posted a cover of Toxic the Britney Spears song by Yael Naim in My Sound Of The Day. Here is another one this time by VersaEmerge.
La suite!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
My Sound Of The Day
You can discover good music anywhere on this earth! I had to be in Mayotte to listen to this english jewel: Aim - Sail Feat Kate Rogers.
La suite!
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
The Itch
Two weeks ago my wife and I celebrated our wedding anniversary. I had booked a night at a place called Village Nature, it is a hotel lost in nature that has a spa.
We got to the place in the afternoon, we really liked the fact that the bungalows were sitting in a small forest and were linked to one another by a wooden footbridge. The inside of the bungalow was all wood, it really gave a cosy nest vibe. There was a Jacuzzi on the balcony of the bungalow and as the trees were everywhere around you would be sure to have full privacy when you would get in the tub.
The spa was located on the other side of the hotel next to the restaurant, it gave an easier access for the clients not staying at the hotel. A heavy wooden door was marking the entrance of the spa and it was locked, you had to slam the gong twice to warn the people inside of your arrival. Those may be details but I think that the spa entrance door being closed and having to use the gong to be announced adds something special to the place. Someone came to open the door and led us to a waiting room where we could have something to drink before starting. We then were brought to the room were we would change and get a shower. The room for the women was of course better looking than the one for the men as women are more demanding. To be completely ready you had to wear nothing but a disposable thong and a robe. It was my first time wearing a thong it probably will be my last.
We left the changing room when we were ready to start and waited for the masseur to come. I had booked a package including a massage with essential oils, a relaxation session and wrapping in plastic film. We were brought to the massage room and headed to our massaging table, the masseur would massage my wife and the masseuse would massage me. I quickly felt that nothing was left to chance, the music was there to set the mood, they were making no sudden moves at all nor noise, the hands knew what they were doing on my body, they would whisper to our ears if they had something to say... Everything was done to make you feel the best way possible. The massage didn’t do so much for me that is because I am a very relaxed person but I really enjoyed the moment. Once the massage ended we were given all the time we needed to wake up and come back to our senses.
Once wide awake we headed to the changing room to wash the oil off and then went to the relaxation area. Jacuzzis, sauna, hammam and cold swimming pool were waiting for us in a cosy relaxing space. There was no noise except for the birds and the insects, we felt like we were alone in the world and it felt great. We were really enjoying the calmness of the place, the time then came to get wrapped in plastic. Its funny, I only had one thing in my head while cream was rubbed on me and I was then wrapped: "it would be hell if I would get an itch while I was wrapped". The idea made me laugh but I was laughing far less when the tip of my nose started to itch. Here I was in my cocoon trying to find a way to scratch my nose, I tried to blow some air where the itch was located with no result. I moved my head left and right to rub my nose on the plastic but again no success. It really didn’t look good for me until the wind blew up a part of the plastic and allowed me to properly scratch my nose on it, what a delight! A mosquito that took the opportunity to sting me after but that wasn’t even that bad. We had a great day at the spa and now my wife wants us to do the same thing each year. If you come to La Reunion you have to stay a week-end in the Village Nature.
La suite!
Thursday, January 20, 2011
My Sound Of The Day
There is not much to say about this one except that it is good for the ears: Barry White - Just The Way You Are.
La suite!
Monday, January 17, 2011
I Am Ill
It is always when you really need something that you find out if the place you are staying has what you it takes.
My wife woke up with the flu last Sunday, she had a fever and a sour throat. I immediately went into the city to look for the pharmacy open in case of emergency. No open one could be found, the phone numbers of doctors were printed in front of each pharmacy I passed by but the numbers were each time for land lines: I wouldn’t be able to use them to get a doctor to come to my house.
Back in the apartment I called the emergency number if you need a doctor or the fire department, I explained my wife’s symptom and asked if a doctor would come. The woman on the phone told me that the doctors in La Reunion were not making house calls. As I don’t have a driving licence, my wife would have to drive to the hospital or we would have to get a cab. She explained that there were quite a few flu cases all over the island and that paracetamol pills would be the best way to wait till Monday if we couldn’t go to the hospital. My wife was taking the plane back to France on Monday, she needed something so that her condition wouldn’t worsen during the flight. I was explained that we should get something to help empty her nose if needed during the flight.
I decided to go straight to the emergency pharmacy to avoid wasting time at the hospital and quickly get what my wife needed. The person on the phone had told me that it was located close to the supermarket in Saint Paul. Once we got there we found nothing. I called the emergency number again to get the exact address of that pharmacy but the person on the phone wouldn’t give me the address and gave me another phone number to call, the kind where you speak to a box. When I rang that one I got asked the postcode of the city I was located. Here is a stupid system created by someone who has been living on the island for a long time and who didn’t think that tourist would come to the island and call that number. Thankfully I have internet on my phone and got that postcode in no time otherwise we would have had to drive back home to get the postcode of Saint Paul. We finally got the address of the pharmacy and drove another 10 minutes to get to the pharmacy. In all my wife had to drive 30 minutes with an elevated fever just because doctors don’t make house calls on this island and the nearest emergency pharmacy is 30km away.
The shop owners and the island representatives don’t understand why tourism is not increasing on the island, you don’t need to be a genius to figure that out. First of all the island is quite expensive and not always with reason. Tourists want to stay in the western part of the island because it is where the most beautiful beaches are; thus the hotels, bungalows and other places to rent are extremely expensive. Eating in a restaurant can cost you 25€ per person. The shops are closed between 12 PM and 2 PM and they close for the day at 6 PM. In Saint Denis the island capital you can’t get anything to eat after 10 PM. You are dead if you don’t speak French, you will be understood in only a handful of location. The island has a lot to offer but when you are a tourist you come to a place to relax not to get a headache.
La suite!
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Happy New Year!
Do you want to know the best way to start the year? You book a table for New Years Eve in a restaurant on the beach with a DJ. It costs you plenty for a diner you could have cooked home. You don’t complain because the music is great and the champagne is not too bad. Then comes 3 in the morning when your belly tells you that you have to go urgently! Luckily the place has real restrooms so you don’t have to use the shoddy chemical ones available. You spend the first day of the year being careful what you eat to avoid going back to the restrooms. Happy New Year!
Don’t have diner in La Petite Vague for New Years Eve!
La suite!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)