When my husband and I got married, my colleagues from work gifted us a mini honeymoon package in Switzerland, since they knew that we would be moving here. It was a "taste and harmony" package at Hotel Cailler in Gruyere, which included an overnight stay in their junior suite, entrance to the thermal baths, and a five course meal in their restaurant for dinner and breakfast buffet in the morning. It also had a bunch of other little perks, like chocolates, meringues, and a bottle of prosecco (that my husband drank by himself since I'm pregnant). I would highly recommend it for anyone looking for a relaxing weekend; it was a great present, because it's not something that I would have thought to buy for myself.
When I was younger, even just a year or so ago, I never understood people who went on vacation just to "relax". I have friends who said their ideal vacation was to go to a beach and lie on a beach all week. It sounded so boring to me. For me, vacation was an opportunity to see things that I normally don't get to see. Thus, I was usually on a mission to see as much as possible when I traveled.
After this weekend, I now understand and appreciate a relaxing, do nothing holiday. I have been especially tired lately, being pregnant. This is a late post, since we actually went in February. We brought our two dogs with us, and since my husband was tired from the drive, he and the dogs took a nap in the room, while I went to the spa. I checked the temperature, and it was safe for pregnancy. I love hot springs, and have really missed being able to go to saunas and hot tubs during my pregnancy. It was also kind of nice to have a private "spa" trip for myself.
There were two major pools, one indoors, and one outdoors. The outdoor pool had a great view of the mountains, and since the water was so warm, it did not feel cold to be outside. It made me think of those travel brochures to Iceland. Many people brought small children with them. There are saunas available, as well as hammams. It was really relaxing for me, because I didn't feel as heavy while floating in the water.
In the evening, we went to the restaurant for our meal. It was listed as five courses, but there were also small amuse bouches so it was really more like eight. The entire meal was 3 hours, and it was a really nice, romantic experience. I have never had such a long meal before--for me, food had always been a very practical thing. Good food, which I would usually eat too quickly due to lack of self control! In this case, we got small portions of very good food, which encouraged us to really savor it. The service was excellent. It was almost like a food performance. We started with a poached lobster with citrus sauce, and a sauteed fois gras. My husband doesn't eat shellfish, so I ate his lobster too! We then had a seared tuna dish, followed by something that I can't remember now. Our main course was a roast pigeon, which tasted like duck to me--which is great because I love duck. I had some reservations about pigeon, since I had eaten a pigeon soup at a banquet in Taiwan and got incredibly sick from it. We had something after the pigeon too, but now I can't remember that either. This is why I often regret waiting too long to write, since I forget too much!
We had a cheese plate, which I didn't really appreciate. I like cheese, but I have a very simple palette for cheese--my favorite cheese is mozzarella, followed by St. Andre/D'affinois, then cheddar, then American cheese. The common denominator? All cheap and mild cheeses. I understand that the cheese they had was fancy cheese, but some of it was so pungent that it was not enjoyable. Maybe this is how non-Chinese people feel about stinky tofu, but this cheese was just too smelly. On the bright side, my husband has been learning French, and this experience was the first time I heard him speak French! He said to the waiter, essentially: "I...want...grape. Red." The cheese plate had grapes on it that didn't come with the cheese, but I guess he wasn't a fan of the cheese either--and apparently he likes red grapes, but not green grapes.
He has actually been very creative with his French. He went to the market to buy popcorn, but did not know the word for popcorn, so he asked the employee for "corn of the cinema". The employee actually did understand him, so he was successful!
Anyway, the meal ended with two different desserts--a pre dessert, and then the final dessert. I can't remember the pre dessert, but the actual dessert was a pineapple coconut cake that was very good.
The next day, we went back to the spa together, and then to the breakfast buffet. There I finally tried Gruyere double creme--I would not have tried it, except a friend of mine highly recommended it. It looks just like a bowl of soft cheese, but it's actually a thick cream, eaten with meringues and berries. I never liked meringues before, but these meringues are light and fluffy. It became my new favorite food for the next month.
We left in the afternoon, but will hopefully be back again. Maybe we will even make it an anniversary or Valentine's day tradition.
There were two major pools, one indoors, and one outdoors. The outdoor pool had a great view of the mountains, and since the water was so warm, it did not feel cold to be outside. It made me think of those travel brochures to Iceland. Many people brought small children with them. There are saunas available, as well as hammams. It was really relaxing for me, because I didn't feel as heavy while floating in the water.
In the evening, we went to the restaurant for our meal. It was listed as five courses, but there were also small amuse bouches so it was really more like eight. The entire meal was 3 hours, and it was a really nice, romantic experience. I have never had such a long meal before--for me, food had always been a very practical thing. Good food, which I would usually eat too quickly due to lack of self control! In this case, we got small portions of very good food, which encouraged us to really savor it. The service was excellent. It was almost like a food performance. We started with a poached lobster with citrus sauce, and a sauteed fois gras. My husband doesn't eat shellfish, so I ate his lobster too! We then had a seared tuna dish, followed by something that I can't remember now. Our main course was a roast pigeon, which tasted like duck to me--which is great because I love duck. I had some reservations about pigeon, since I had eaten a pigeon soup at a banquet in Taiwan and got incredibly sick from it. We had something after the pigeon too, but now I can't remember that either. This is why I often regret waiting too long to write, since I forget too much!
We had a cheese plate, which I didn't really appreciate. I like cheese, but I have a very simple palette for cheese--my favorite cheese is mozzarella, followed by St. Andre/D'affinois, then cheddar, then American cheese. The common denominator? All cheap and mild cheeses. I understand that the cheese they had was fancy cheese, but some of it was so pungent that it was not enjoyable. Maybe this is how non-Chinese people feel about stinky tofu, but this cheese was just too smelly. On the bright side, my husband has been learning French, and this experience was the first time I heard him speak French! He said to the waiter, essentially: "I...want...grape. Red." The cheese plate had grapes on it that didn't come with the cheese, but I guess he wasn't a fan of the cheese either--and apparently he likes red grapes, but not green grapes.
He has actually been very creative with his French. He went to the market to buy popcorn, but did not know the word for popcorn, so he asked the employee for "corn of the cinema". The employee actually did understand him, so he was successful!
Anyway, the meal ended with two different desserts--a pre dessert, and then the final dessert. I can't remember the pre dessert, but the actual dessert was a pineapple coconut cake that was very good.
The next day, we went back to the spa together, and then to the breakfast buffet. There I finally tried Gruyere double creme--I would not have tried it, except a friend of mine highly recommended it. It looks just like a bowl of soft cheese, but it's actually a thick cream, eaten with meringues and berries. I never liked meringues before, but these meringues are light and fluffy. It became my new favorite food for the next month.
We left in the afternoon, but will hopefully be back again. Maybe we will even make it an anniversary or Valentine's day tradition.
