Vals

Before all the excitement of having family here, we spent a weekend in Vals - a tiny
Swiss town with natural spring water being bottled on sight (Valser water).
Our agenda for the weekend - sleep, eat, soak in water - in any order and combination.
We stayed at the Rovanada - a nice little hotel with an excellent buffet breakfast that even allows you to make your own egg should you choose.
We ended up fulfilling all criteria on our first night there including a nap when we arrived on Friday afternoon, a nice long dinner,and a swim in the indoor pool later that night.

On Sat we got up late enough, enjoyed breakfast, went for a walk in the sunshine, and came back for a wee rest before our scheduled Therme time. The afternoon was spent at the Therme vals soaking in all 6 pools. The range went from 14 degrees to 42 (Celsius). Let's face it, I didn't really get into the 14 degree one, but it was there! There was even a pool with petals in it which was scented. The architecture of the place is fascinating and it takes a while to discover exactly where everything is. We played with the pressure showers and poked our noses into the steam shower areas. What we did not do was roll in the snow and then jump back in the warm water. I couldn't quite bring myself to that point. We did have fun in the outdoor pool watching our heads steam as the rest of our bodies stayed nice and warm though. The area is stunning - this time of year completely blanketed in snow of course.
Three and a half hours later we emerged, thoroughly pruned. Of course that night was a wonderful 4 course dinner to savor and after all our hard work, an earlier night for us. Well we needed our beauty rest so that we could get up early in the morning for a massage!


Yes, we had 8am massages. I wish I could say it was as glorious as everything else, but really it was just alright. James felt the same about his. I guess we are a bit spoiled (miss you, Karen!). Still, it was relaxing enough and a good way to start the day. We enjoyed one last extensive breakfast and headed back to lugano. Probably the funniest thing was seeing the season change from winter back to fall as we came through the mountain pass down towards Lugano. We are lucky to have such mild weather here!