Gstaad, Switzerland + Bora Bora: Hand cream and coasters!
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5 star rating!!
“The friends you wish you had: These two are so cool and funny. But the magic is in their natural banter. They are immediately likable and you’ll wish they were your besties bringing over the wine on a Wednesday…”
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Alison is all grown up with her new obsession of her bedside coasters! She has one for water and the 2nd for a ‘fun drink.’ Ata girl, I say!
Lulu is obsessed with moisturizing her hands. Any time she thinks about it, she has to moisturize. She always carries it in her purse and treats herself to a ‘handcial’ whenever she’s shopping in a Sephora or other stores with creams.
Longing to have a no muss-no fuss beautification of her home, Alison wants a monthly floral service so she doesn’t have to go to the store, pick up flowers and then arrange them in a vase.
Lulu’s wishlist came out so fast that I almost couldn’t figure out what time marker it was at! This holiday season, she’s wishing for unlimited massages. And to this, I also say, Ata girl!
Does a 10K day in Gstaad sound familiar to you? Well, if you’ve been a listener since the beginning, it should! Lulu didn’t realize that Alison had done Gstaad in an earlier episode, but as luck would have it, she didn’t duplicate any of the places or adventures! She went all NEXT LEVEL with her 10K Day, so here goes!
Staying at the Le Grand Bellevue in the Tower Suite, Lulu opted for the Mountain Wellness package. And that includes:
Recharge and renew with Mountain Wellness. An experience designed to recalibrate your inner balance and to enhance both emotional and physical wellbeing:
• 2-night stay in a luxurious double room or suite
• Sumptuous breakfast buffet
• A 50-minute Deep Tissue massage for two
• “Swiss Face & Neck” treatment for one guest
• Daily 3-course dinner at LEONARD’s with water pairing (what???) Lulu wondered what kind of fancy water you could have, so she imagined it would be 1842 Chinese dew drops (LOL) Also, PSA: Don’t buy ‘special water’ from Alison! Scam alert! Hilarious!
• Access to Le Grand Spa – 3,000 m² of luxurious wellness facilities including a Thermal Oasis with 17 different wellness zones, an indoor and outdoor relaxation pool and a state-of-the-art gym
• Complimentary minibar with daily replenishing- YES, PLEASE!
• High-speed internet and local transfers on arrival and departure included
After enjoying the ‘sumptuous breakfast,’ Lulu had the sommelier recommend a nice bottle of white for her to take on her lunch trip. But, before lunch she filled her morning by joining one of Gstaad’s expert snowcat drivers to “groom the mountain”, preparing it for the next morning’s wave of skiers and snowboarders, and took a floristry class from the Bellevue in-house florist, Paolo, the man responsible for Le Grand Bellevue’s beautiful weekly floral arrangements. Once she had that beautiful arrangement, she needed an appropriately lavish vase to put them in. So, she purchased a Ming & Qing Dynasty porcelain flower vase for just shy of 4K.
Lunch was a Fondue Hike where you get to pick up a fondue backpack. What’s a fondue backpack? It’s an adorably Swiss backpack full of all the necessary fondue ingredients. In your fondue backpack you will find fondue mix, fondue bread, spices, a fondue pot, warmer, plates and forks. Unless you somehow already have everything listed, this will be imperative to your fondue hike.
The day before you plan to do your fondue hike, you’ll need to order your fondue backpack. You can do so through the following dairies:
• Schönrede Dairy
• Fromage & Pain Saanen
• Gstaad Dairy
• Zweisimmen Dairy
The backpack doesn’t include wine, so don’t forget to grab that separately when you pick up your backpack! To keep hers warm, she purchased a VinGlacé cooler and got it engraved. While hiking in the Alps on your fondue hike you will dine inside a large, wooden seating area shaped like, you guessed it, a fondue pot! Gstaad is home to three large fondue pots, each with room for up to eight people, and one specially designed hut which also fits up to 8.
The pots and hut include:
1. Schlittmoos fondue pot
2. Vorderi Wispile fondue pot
3. Cheese Grotto fondue pot
4. Rellerli fondue hut
Full of fondue, she had more adventures to make! She did the Glacier 3000, at her own risk, of course! Then came her Peak Walk by Tissot where you can see the breathtaking view of the following alps: Matterhorn, Mont Blanc, Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau are visible from the bridge and offer grandiose views, far off into the distance. The suspension bridge is free of charge and open year-round subject to weather conditions.
Always one to think ahead, Lulu’s reasoning for taking the Glacier Walk, which takes about an hour, is the Restaurant Refuge l'Espace on the edge of the glacier by Quille du Diable. It offers a wonderful view down into the Derborence Valley and Valais - and the many delicious menus promise a culinary delight of a top quality. Those who feel revitalized, and full of energy after the meal can walk back to Scex Rouge. For her walk, she was prepared with MSR Lightning Ascent Women’s shoes, and fancy Cargo pants. And that took her to 10K exactly for this Gstaad NEXT LEVEL day!
Well, I have to say that Bora Bora is also on my bucket list of places to travel. So, I’m glad that Alison did all the work for us and once we start rolling in the dough, we can all go in 10K style! No brainer, Alison stayed at the Four Seasons in a One-Bedroom Mountain-View Overwater Bungalow Suite with the complete Polynesian lagoon experience, with views of majestic Mount Otemanu. She added on the bed and breakfast feature taking her 2-night stay to well over 6K!
Ready for action, Alison Jet Skied from breakfast out onto the lagoon to then jump off to snorkel with sharks and schools of fish. She had to admit that as she was creating this incredibly luxurious and adventurous day, it made her a little bitter since she can’t afford trips like this. But, hey…let’s dream BIG for 10K Dollar Day!! Someday, ladies! Someday!!
Lunch was at the local dining staple, Bloody Mary’s. Now, unless you’re new to 10K Dollar Day, you know that no matter how many ways she’s tried them, Alison is just not a Bloody Mary fan. Well, she lucked out here because they had what they call a Bloody Jack, which is Jack Daniel’s, splash of cassis liquor, splash of coconut liquor, sweet & sour mix, pineapple juice. Stop the presses!! Looks like we’ve found her a Mary!!
Then she hopped on her own rental boat and was off to see the sights on her way to La Villa Mahana. It is Bora Bora’s most exclusive and romantic restaurant and it only seats six couples a night! The five course menu features unique Polynesian dishes made with classic French technique. Well sated, Alison decides to support a local masseuse from Latitude Massage and surprise her with a $1000 payment.
To end her day, Alison chose the the signature restaurant at St. Regis Bora Bora. The design blends into the environment with floor-to-ceiling windows and a glass floor right over the lagoon where you see rays, fish, and the occasional nurse shark swim on by while you’re eating a $100 steak. Then she ended her 10K day on a Bora Bora Catamaran Sunset Sail where she relaxed, sipped a glass of sparkling wine, and munched on included snacks on a chaise lounge while music played over the on-board sound system. Sounds like perfection to me!
Alison is really enjoying her time away in North Carolina to see some good friends, spend time with her hubby to relax in this busy time of year.
Lulu, having just wrapped a 2nd show in Raleigh, North Carolina is happy that she’s made such good new theatre friends.
CHECK OUT THE CHARITIES WE FOUND IN THE CITIES WE VISITED:
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