A digital travel diary. · WP v1.08 · Updated
Tuesday, July 7, 2026 . From the Takakkaw Falls, it took us about two hours to reach the Kananaskis Mountain Lodge, where we had planned to stay one night. Inna had found an amazing Nordic Spa, and she wanted everyone to rest after so many days of hiking. . . . . . . We reached the Kananaskis Mountain Lodge at around 16:30, and it…
Read More: Kananaskis Village Hotel & Nordic Spa
Sunday, March 15, 2026 . At 17:00, we started our drive from Verona to Hotel Mioni Pezzato & SPA in Abano Terme, arriving at 18:15. Only one receptionist was working at the front desk, and she seemed overwhelmed by phone calls & requests. We had to wait our turn (but we were warned by our friends about slow & uneven service). . . After checking…
Read More: Relaxing Abano Terme (March 15 – 19)
Thursday, March 12, 2026 . From Bergamo's Parcheggio Città Alta Bergamo parking, we drove about 75 minutes to the Grand Hotel Terme in Sirmione. There was heavy traffic in Bergamo, but it thinned out once we reached the tollway. . . On arriving in Sirmione, we had to follow a special procedure to park our Opel Corsa. Once we reached the yellow barrier, we had…
Read More: Picturesque Sirmione (March 12-15)
For Inna's birthday, I had planned a two-day getaway retreat at Calistoga, featuring rest & relaxation at the Indian Springs Resort & Spa. . Friday, February 27, 2026. After Inna and I finished work, we started our drive to Indian Springs Resort & Spa in Calistoga. There was some traffic on the way, and we arrived later than expected. After checking in at reception, we…
Read More: Calistoga Weekend
Sunday, September 28, 2025. Inna had one more Birthday surprise for me - a visit to the Refuge Spa at the Carmel Valley Athletic Club. . After an early wake-up at 07:00, we showered and dressed. We walked downstairs to another delicious breakfast at the Stilwell Hotel. There was a wide variety of small prepared items, and I enjoyed some eggs, yogurt, and pastries. .…
Read More: Refuge Spa in Carmel
Sunday, August 10, 2025. . Start: #351, Cameron House, A82, Loch Lomond, Alexandria G83 8QZ, Scotland . End: #316, Courtyard Marriott, Keflavik, Iceland. Highlights: Lava Restaurant, Blue Lagoon . After waking up around 08:30, I showered and dressed. When Inna was ready, we walked downstairs, into the long corridor leading to our breakfast buffet. . . . . At around 09:00, we joined the queue…
Read More: Enjoying Blue Lagoon, Iceland (August 10)
Saturday, August 9, 2025. . Start: #351, Cameron House, A82, Loch Lomond, Alexandria G83 8QZ, Scotland . End: #351, Cameron House, A82, Loch Lomond, Alexandria G83 8QZ, Scotland. Highlights: Cameron Spa, Bike Ride to Luss, La Vista Restaurant . . . . . After waking up around 08:30, I showered, shaved, and dressed. When Inna was ready, we walked downstairs, into the long corridor leading…
Read More: Bike & Spa at Loch Lomond, Scotland (August 9)
Wednesday, July 30, 2025. Starting: Wilderness Center, Egilstaðir, Iceland. Ending: Hótel Edda Akureyri, Akureyri, Iceland. Highlights: Rjúkandi Waterfall, Stuðlagil Canyon, Mývatn Nature Baths, Godafoss Waterfall, Akureyri downtown, Akureyrarkirkja, Dinner at Rub23 . . . Happy Birthday, Alex!. . . . . . Our Wilderness Center accommodations, in Egilstaðir, were fairly Spartan but comfortable, not too hot or cold (we had the windows open at night).…
Read More: Enjoying Mývatn Spa & Waterfalls, Iceland (July 30)
Saturday, July 26, 2025. Starting: Hotel Island & Spa, Reykjavik, Iceland . Ending: Hotel Island & Spa, Reykjavik, Iceland . . Highlights: Hallgrimskirkja Church, Einar Johnson Museum, Harpa Concert Hall, Magic Ice Reykjavík, Sky Lagoon . . . . After a restful night of sleep, I woke at 07:30, showered, shaved, and dressed. After Inna awoke and dressed, we decided to try following a one-day…
Read More: Exploring Reykjavík, Iceland (July 26)For Inna's birthday, I had planned a two-day getaway to Calistoga, featuring rest & relaxation at the Indian Springs Resort & Spa and entertainment at Blue Note Napa, where one of her favorite flamenco guitarists, Ottmar Liebert, was performing. . Friday, February 21, 2025. After Inna and I finished work, we started our drive to Indian Springs Resort & Spa in Calistoga. There was some…
Read More: A Short Getaway to Calistoga
Inna and I planned a two-day weekend at the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa from Friday, January 31, to Sunday, February 2, 2025. However, due to the impending rain system (aka Pineapple Express), we decided to shorten the trip to one day. . Friday, January 31, 2025 . We started the long drive to Sonoma in the late afternoon. There were periods of heavy…
Read More: One Night in Sonoma
Monday, December 30, 2024 . Once we reached Aqua Dome in Längenfeld from the Ötztal Bahnhof (train station) using bus #320, we dropped off our 3 large suitcases and decided to grab lunch (as our room #169 was not yet ready). . . We decided to grab lunch at the cafe and sat near the bar. We ordered the following items: . . Boris: Frittatensuppe…
Read More: Relaxing at Aqua Dome, Langenfeld
The famous Austrian village of St. Anton am Arlberg has long been a dream ski destination for me, so I was excited when Inna reserved four nights at the Pfeffermühle Hotel in St. Anton from December 22 - 26, 2024. . . . . . Pfeffermühle Hotel recommended renting skis and snowboards from Alber Sport (which also has on-site ski storage lockers). The closest shop…
Read More: Enjoying St. Anton amd Arlberg
Wednesday, September 25, 2024 . At noon, we drove our Nissan Qashqai from the Ventozelo Hotel & Quinta in Ervedosa do Douro to the H2otel/Aquadome in Unhais de Serra. . During our two-hour drive, we stopped for lunch at DouroSerra Restaurant in Valongo dos Azeites at 13:00. We had made lunch reservations in advance (to avoid problems getting seated). . . When we arrived at…
Read More: Relaxing at Aquadome, Portugal
Friday, October 13, 2023. For our 22nd Wedding Anniversary, Inna made reservations at the Indian Springs Hotel in Calistoga. After finishing our work on Friday evening, we lightly packed our suitcases and loaded our Tesla Model Y. . . We started our drive to Calistoga at 17:20, encountering heavy traffic and about 30-45 minutes of delays. We arrived at Indian Springs at around 19:52. We…
Read More: Relaxing in Calistoga
To relax during our two-week trip to southern Italy, Inna made reservations for 3 days at the San Montana Resort & Spa on the island of Ischia (off the coast of Naples). Ischia is one hour away from Sorrento by ferry (making it convenient to visit). . . . . Friday, September 29, 2023. While in Sorrento, we woke at 7:00, dressed, and packed our…
Read More: Relaxing on Ischia
. . . We had our last delicious breakfast at Tobhartbauer's residence. I ate the delicious rolls, a little cold cereal with nuts, and a delightful tea. . . . . . After packing and paying our bill, we headed for Aqua Dome. On the way there, we decided to stop for lunch at Hall in Tirol (near Innsbruck).. . . . We parked our…
Read More: Enjoying Hall in Tirol, Oetz, and Aqua Dome
After a long day in Salzburg, we drove to Bad Hofgastein to enjoy a relaxing day at the Alpentherme Gastein spa. Alex was tired and decided not to join us (too bad for him, as he missed the excellent slides). . . . . . The spa was a beautiful retreat with an alpine/mountain overlook and fantastic thermal pools and saunas.. . We really enjoyed…
Read More: Relaxing at Alpentherme
We have always enjoyed dining at the fabulous Solbar Restaurant in Calistoga, especially when we spent time at the Indian Springs Resort. We have never stayed at the Solage Spa, but Inna wanted to try it, so we booked the "Just the Two of Us" promotion for the Thanksgiving Holiday weekend.. . We arrived on Friday afternoon and checked in. The drive from San Jose…
Read More: Relaxing at Solage Spa in Calistoga
We arrived at Calistoga's Indian Springs Resort & Spa late in the evening, around 11:15 p.m.. . . Given the light traffic, the evening drive was not very exhausting. Luckily, we had just enough time to dip in the hot thermal pool of Indian Springs.. . . . . . Saturday, October 19, 2013. . The next day, we got up early and went for…
Read More: Relaxing at Indian Springs Resort & Spa in Calistoga