Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Oct. 25 - Bike, Spa, and Ottawa.

Today was like any other day except nothing like them at all. We awoke, did the internet thing, packed up the car, drove out to Gatineau Park again, this time to go biking. There we did a nice 20km ride which was packed with some great climbs, even better descents, and beautiful scenery the whole way.
After the ride Jena and I went to a wonderful place called LeNordic which is a Nature Spa nestled in hills of Chelsea, Quebec. Neither of us had been to anything like it before but with the wonderful descriptions my aunt, uncle, and cousins gave it we decided to give it a try (a huge thanks to Skip and Carol for treating us). LeNordic was amazing, an unbelievably relaxing experience. The idea is a relaxing experience for adults with three stages to complete relaxation: first being heat (sauna, steam rooms, or whirlpool), second was cold (50 degree waterfall, 60 degree pool, or just sitting outside in the crisp fall air), and lastly relaxation rooms(fully equipped with noise canceling headphones, fireplaces, and the sounds of flowing water). Although LeNordic seemed like something I may never have thought to do, it turned out to be fantastic. The sauna and steambaths were great, we also really enjoyed the hot and cold waterfalls as well as the relaxation rooms(Jena fell asleep). And although I'm not sure my reading choice of Naked Lunch was such a great relaxing choice it was still quite enjoyable. We ended up spending close to five hours there(and probably could have stayed even longer, it was so nice) before heading back into Ottawa for dinner at the J's again, this time with Skip and Carol as well.
Click on the photo to be directed to the Spa's website, if you're interested.
Once again dinner was delicious and we had a great time hanging out and chatting before retiring to bed back at Skip and Carol's. We are going to be heading towards Montreal tomorrow and then Quebec City before uniting with the U.S.A again. A huge thank you goes out to all of my family in Ottawa who showed us what a wonderful city it and the surrounding areas are. Thanks for the dinners, the conversations, the showers, and the beds. We are very grateful!