Spa Vouchers

When I resigned from teaching I was given a spa voucher as a farewell gift. I am not a lady of leisure so any kind of pampering (in that form) is completely foreign to me. I know pampering that comes in the form of a glass of wine while my husband makes dinner or a night out with my husband or an impromptu  shoulder massage  or when I let my six year old daughter do my make-up – make no mistake, these are things I love and thoroughly enjoy. But when it comes to pampering in the form of a spa treatment, I am a complete novice.

I will be honest and say that the whole concept of letting a stranger massage my entire body was slightly unnerving. The spa voucher stayed on my bedside table for about 3 months before I actually used it. I decided to use it two weeks before I got married; it seemed like a perfect pre-wedding activity. I had also quit smoking (again) and was feeling very healthy – these two factors resulted in me making the call and going in for my first ever full-body massage.

The day before, I prepared myself by shaving and washing my hair, straightening my hair and selecting an outfit. I realise that this may all sound unnecessary but I wanted to make sure that nothing in my appearance would give away the fact that this was not the world I lived in. The world of spa vouchers, manicures, pedicures, weekly massages, champagne lunches and Prada hand bags was not (and is still not) my world.

On arrival at the spa I was greeted with a smile and they even knew my name. I waited for a while in the waiting lounge reading a magazine. All I could hear was running water and all I could smell were scented candles and aromatherapy oils – I would recommend going to spend a few hours in the waiting room of a spa; even that experience was pretty relaxing. After handing them my spa voucher I was lead to the changing rooms.

I had my own locker key and inside this locker I would find my robe, a very very tiny pair of panties (that could have been mistaken for a hair-band) and some comfy slippers. I was told to change into the robe and slippers and then make my way to the couches by the candles.  This specific spa treatment center was made to look like a cave. The walls were only made out of large rocks and behind me were stairs leading down to, what looked like, underground rock pools. This place was heavenly.

As I was gawking, mouth open, at this amazing place, a woman came up to me with a bowl of warm water and said that she was going to wash my feet. I almost said that she didn’t have to (to me it felt like such a degrading act, you know, to wash someone else’s feet) but I stopped myself. This is what these people do for a living (and I know how much that spa voucher cost) so I sat back at let the pampering begin.

All in all, it was an unforgettable experience and I would love to do it again. But I am also so grateful that this is not a regular part of my world because then I don’t think I would have appreciated it as much. Every woman deserves to be pampered and treated like a queen once in her life, so if you are looking for a wonderful gift for a woman, this is definitely the way to go.