A Day at Ste. Annes' Spa

Nothing beats the pre-winter blues more than a pampering day at

Ste. Annes Spa in Grafton, Ontario

Photo courtesy of Ste. Anne's Spa

Its charming, welcoming foyer hints of the day to come

First up......a facial

Can't say I am too proud to not show myself 

covered in cleansing goop! 

All day is spent lounging in white fluffy robes - how comfortable to not have to worry about how you 'look', since it is a sea of white robes wherever you turn!

Dining at Ste. Anne's is an experience in itself.

The dining room is bright, airy and sunny.

photo courtesy of Ste. Anne's Spa

Lunch was a three course feast......

starting with beet carpaccio, arugula salad and a poached egg...

...followed by a Maryland crabcake.....

......finishing off with a blueberry cheesecake and

 a brownie with raspberry sorbet

With my hunger satiated, it was time to relax in the outdoor hottub

photo courtesy of Ste. Anne's Spa

The next hour was spent blissfully under the hands of a massage therapist, coaxing the knots out of 

the 'shoulders that I wear as earrings'!

In the finest of British tradition, 'afternoon tea' was served in dining room as I basked in the afterglow of my relaxed body and soul.

A perfect sampling of savoury tidbits and sweets, scones with cream and soothing steeped tea.

 The day ended with a few hours relaxing

 in one of the many 'quiet rooms'

Thank you, Ste. Anne', for a wonderful day of pampering!

New York, New York

With Autumn upon us, and leaves swirling around the yard outside my window, my thoughts take me back to 2011 and my first visit to New York city since the early 80's.

Since the horrific events in 2001, the city has made great efforts to welcome tourists back and; Times Square still bustles with throngs of camera yielding visitors (me included).

One of the fun aspects is the giant video that captures people milling about.  If you look closely in the centre, you can see me with my face covered by my camera.

My traveling companion was V Star Lady and we tried to visit as many notable sites as we could.  First stop; the majestic Penn Station

  Next up, St. Paul's Chapel, which served as a place of rest and refuge for recovery workers at the World Trade Centre site in 2001.

 We walked everywhere we went, so as to not miss any of the 'feel' of the city and its interesting architecture.

After many kilometers and hints of blisters, we treated ourselves to a wonderful dinner at a French Bistro

(C.H., can you guess what I ordered??)

 For our second day, our aim was to walk around Little Italy.  Starting our day at the crack of dawn, we needed to get some sustenance and found this charming pastry shop.

Pounding the pavement is hungry work, so 'when in Itlay',

 Italian food it is!

We were lucky enough to get tickets to the taping of a very popular U.S. TV show, THE VIEW. 

  One of the hosts is well known comedienne, Whoopi Goldburg

After the show, we walked through Central Park and happened upon the St. Patrick's Day parade.

 That evening we dined and were entertained at the retro 1950's eatery, Ellen's stardust diner where the waiters are aspiring actors and singers.  They periodically jump onto a walkway between the tables and burst into song.  Quite a fun evening.

The following day, after a hearty breakfast......

....we took the free Staten Island Ferry

 to meet up with Lady Liberty......

.....and see a side of Manhattan (south) that never seems to make it into the movies???

While people watching is fascinating, celebrity sightings are a common pass time.  During our shopping spree at Macy's, we bumped into Ivanka Trump (Donald's daughter)....such a beautiful girl.

 Goodbye NY! There will be another visit to

 'The City that Never Sleeps' soon.

Super Moon

There was a total eclipse of the moon on the night of September 27, 2015. It happens to be the closest supermoon of 2015. It’s the Northern Hemisphere’s Harvest Moon, or full moon nearest the September equinox.  This full moon is also called a Blood Moon, because it presents the fourth and final eclipse of a lunar tetrad: four straight total eclipses of the moon, spaced at six lunar months (full moons) apart.

 

I thought this would be a good opportunity to set up my tripod, strap on my telephoto lens and see what I could capture.

 

I was disheartened to see the clouds starting to roll in, so had to wait for a few breaks to start snapping away.

The eclipse started.....

......the moon was starting to fade away....

..

......minute by minute....

until, finally, it almost totally diasappeared....

Although I am not a professional photographer, I am extremely happy with the pictures I captured over my 4 hour outside advenure!

The beginning of the end....

It is always with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to the Isle of Man for another year.  What better way to spend our last evening, than with one of our friends, (Barbara, of West Lodge BnB,) at our favourite pub,

 The Station in Port Erin.

The winds were in our favour, giving us a fabulous view, as we soared higher and higher into the blue abyss

The view arriving into Manchester was just as breathtaking

Our friend Fred H, who we met at West Lodge at the TT last year, lives in Manchester and suggested we visit Piccadilly and Market Street to get a feel for 'his town'.  The streets were teaming with people (hate crowds), but the architecture was breathtaking...

We stumbled upon a food market that featured all sorts of tasty treats...

...under the watchful eye of Queen Victoria

The most surprising event that we couldn't pass up, was a 'cider tasting' happening  right in the middle of the square.....'come on in', they said, as they handed me a sample of their new 'cloudy cider'...

Tasty, tasty, tasty...

  We walked from the train station to the market, but saw that there were free buses that travelled through the city, showing off the sites......on the menu for next year.....

After many kilometres of walking, it was time to head back to the hotel for dinner and an early night (for an early flight).  Our burgers and fries hit the spot...

  The 'sky tube' that took us home.....

.....floated through the skies...

Home awaits......and dreams of more adventures that the future holds.....