In just over 40 days we board a plane for China, for a lovely long holiday.

I don’t think I have ever craved a holiday quite as much as this one. I want, I want, I want.

China is one of the last places I ever imagined I would travel to. It’s always seemed so unlikely, so different, so (expensively!) out of my grasp. I mean, it was there on the list, but not until way towards the bottom. But these days, the more I read about it, the more photographs I see, the more I think that it’s been overlooked in my “short-list of places I want to travel to ASAP”.

In December, I was ultra keen – stocking up on China tour guides, researching obsessively on the internet. Now? I’m fairly well resigned to letting things fall where they may. It’s kind of a refreshing approach, though I will admit I’ve been thumbing through these books again lately, now that we’ve got destinations in mind.

In between all of the bureaucratic-ness of passports, visas, budgeting, and trying to figure out how to carry on the most basic of basic mandarin conversations, the only thing that’s really stuck in my mind is that this is going to be an incredible adventure. It really really is.

I gave myself a treat today, well, rather, a friend of mine gave me a treat today, and I went to Third Avenue Spa for a steam shower and a massage.

The overwhelming result? It was o-kay. But not fantastic. The steam shower was great for the first few minutes…but you can only go so long in a closed in steamroom without wanting some cold water or some fresh air or a breeze (please! breeze!). Think of being in a sauna and absolutely completely dreanched in sweat. It was an interesting experience – though I probably wouldn’t do it again. The Moor Mud Bath was what I really wanted to try (and what the original gift had been for) but alas, the tub was out of service. Another time, perhaps?

And here’s where I start to sound whiny. I don’t mean to – I really don’t! I mean, overall…it was nice. But I’m easily annoyed by bad service these days. And it’s my blog so I can whine if I want to. Pfffft.

The massage was good. But I am picky. My therapist was going to work on my back, legs and shoulders. She only covered two out of three….and I *really* wanted a calf massage. I should have mentioned it, I know, but I figured we had covered the “work on my legs part” when we agreed that she would work on my legs. Plus you lose all track of time when you’re lazing around on a massage table. My brain was mush. The oil was a strongly scented patchouli…not my favourite scent. It would be great to visit a spa where you’ve got a selection of oils to choose from. I hate wandering home after a massage feeling very relaxed but smelling very strongly of unpleasant scents. And the noise! You can hear every bang, scrape of a chair and bump, not to mention chatty cathy’s and people in the downstairs hallway. It takes away from the mood a little. But overall the massage was nice – so much so that I think I very briefly dozed for a minute or two somewhere in the middle.

The thing that really bothered me was having to get changed into a robe upstairs. Third Ave Spa looks directly out onto a very busy Bank St. in the Glebe. There’s something kind of offputting about wandering around in a robe practically in the front window while other spa clients pay their bills and people wait for the bus just outside the windows. Especially since all of the services are downstairs in the basement. Wouldn’t it make more sense to put the changerooms in the basement?

I don’t think I’ll go back for a massage (I’ve enjoyed other spas more) but it’s nice to know what it’s like inside somewhere I always find myself walking by. Of course…if they get that mud tub working…