Eight years, day one

I find myself quite surprised that it is already the end of January (okay, it's February, but it WAS January when I wrote this, honest).  How did that happen?  Eight years have gone by since our wedding, and often I wonder how that happened too.  It was my year to plan the surprise, and Martin seems to be quite pleased.  Last year, he completely spoiled me with an abundance of spa services but he really doesn't enjoy much of that sort of thing.  My goal then was to find something to appeal to him.

My first plan was to take us someplace warm where he could enjoy MacWorld.  I'd been working on that idea for two years, but had to let it go.  Instead I looked for a lake, a fireplace, someplace to walk to and an awesome dinner.  I have to say that it worked out brilliantly, and everything I wanted to be a surprise was.

We drove to Mt. Tremblant and stayed at the marvellous Quintessence.  We were greeted warmly at the door by Eric, who quickly took our luggage and ushered us inside.  Julien, who helped me plan the week, met us and we were checked in within moments.   I never expected the hotel room to be so lovely, and particularly to have so much room since space on the ski hill is at a premium, and that is reflected in the sizes of, well, everything. Restaurants might only seat twenty, hotel rooms are typically the type where you will surely stub your toe because everything is so cramped.  Eric lit the fire while we explored it all. We had both a patio door and a window overlooking the lake, and it was quiet and serene in spite of the many people on the ski hill itself.   Our room featured a huge massage tub, and a massive shower and I couldn't wait to try out either one.

A half hour or so after our arrival, we were presented with two welcoming plates.  The first was an assortment of fine Quebec cheeses, fruit and crostini.  The second held the largest prawns I'd ever seen, as well as house smoked trout and crab claws. It didn't take us long at all to settle in front of the fire and thoroughly enjoy it all.

The mild weather this year was a pleasant surprise, since all the other years it has been bitterly cold.   The moment I said that out loud, however, Martin warned me to be quiet in case I jinxed it.  Not ten minutes later, we were met with freezing rain and I think that is actually colder than -30C.  Then the wind picked up, and we were grateful thate only had a block or so to travel to find restaurant choices for dinner.  The pizza place won out, mostly because it was the closest.

It wouldn't have mattered if we had found any food at all.  We had found a peaceful place to just be together for awhile.  There were no demands on either of us, and it could not have been more perfect.