November 11, 2011

November 11, 2011

This morning I woke up around 8:15, got ready, ate breakfast and finished packing before catching the bus into town. I met Nikki, Becca and Alex at the station at 10:45 and our train left at 11:13 (two minutes after 11:11 on 11/11/11 from platform 11)! The ride to Bologna only took about thirty-five minutes. At the Bologna station there was a huge stand with Sicilian pastries and I got an apple pastry that was absolutely delicious. We caught our next train to Rovereto at 12:10. The ride was about three hours but we talked the entire way and the time flew by. We arrived in Rovereto at 3:00, just in time to catch the 3:10 bus to Riva del Garda. We were happy to find a bus ticket only cost us three Euros and the bus ride was gorgeous. We arrived in Rica around 4:00 and walked to our hotel. We found it without a problem and it was gorgeous. The air here is so fresh and smells like flowers. And I love the sound of the waves lapping against the shore. We walked into the incredible lobby and checked in. They referred to me as “Mrs. Nelson” and the others in the same fashion, which really made us giggle. They insisted on taking our bags to our rooms (we had little backpacks/duffels) and proceeded to give us a little tour, ending in our rooms. The rooms were incredible. We decided to have all three girls in one room and Alex would have his own. They couldn’t quite understand why we all three wanted to share the king size bed but they eventually gave up trying to offer us another bed or a bigger room. We found we had a balcony that looked over the lake and the mountains and kind of freaked out :)

When we were settled, we put on our swimsuits and Lido Palace robes and flip-flops and headed down to the spa. There we were given a tour of the facilities. We started out swimming in the pool, which was so nice and relaxing. It had been such a long time since any of us had gone swimming. Then I headed to the “Relaxation Path.” You spent the first fifteen minutes in a room that was supposed to be like a Roman Bath that was very warm and humid and smelled like lavender (heavenly). In each room there was also relaxing music and lights that changed color with the music. From that room you went to a cooler one to cool you down a bit and then you went to the steam room, which was basically a giant humidifier that smelled like lemons. I sure would love a room like that when I am sick/during shows/when my voice is not at its best. It was lovely. After that, there were a series of “rain shower” and “massage” showers that smelled like different fruits and flowers. I went to the relaxation room next, which had lounge chairs, blankets, a view of the outdoor pool and lake, orange water, mint water, fresh fruit, granola, books and magazines. I ended my time in the hot tub…quite a heavenly time in the spa.

After that we showered and got ready to head out to dinner. We found the shower in our room lovely as well—the showerhead lit up and felt like a rain shower. On top of that, we had peppermint shampoo, cilantro conditioner and rum body wash so we all smelled like Christmas :) We then headed out, enjoying the town all lit up and keeping our eye out for a restaurant. Becca found one that looked cheap and nice and it ended up being the place where all the locals went, which was fun. They had a pizza menu and a pasta menu but we all voted for pizza. We had incredible pizza and split a half-liter of white wine. It was one of the loveliest dinners I have had on this trip :) We hung around a while, making friends with a group of Italians sitting by us and then headed back to the hotel. When we got back, we found our beds turned down, our Lido Palace slippers laid out by our beds, bottle water at our bedside, our clutter arranged and, in Alex’s case, his clothes he’d thrown on the bed, folded. WHERE ARE WE?! Then we all got into our pajamas and all four of us going into our king bed and watched Spirited Away on Nikki’s computer. Exhausted, we all fell right asleep when the movie was over around 11:30.