Spa Day

“We must always change, renew, rejuvenate ourselves; otherwise we harden” -- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

My half-year reward for reaching my #GoTheDist goal of 400 miles in 6 months was to book myself a spa day.  Not just a pedicure, but the works.  Thankfully my dear friend Emily said that she'd come with me as we made a day of it.

First stop was Boqueria, DC for a little brunch and an adult beverage to start the day off right.  ZOMG  -- amazing.  We split a few different dishes off of their brunch menu:  patatas bravas (in a spicy tomato sauce and topped with garlic aioli), Spanish toast (french toast with brûléed sugar on top), pan con tomate (like bruchetta), beicon (bacon), mel i mato (whipped fresh cow’s milk ricotta cheese, candied walnuts, berries, local honey) and a nutella-filled churro.

Yes.  You heard right -- NUTELLA-FILLED CHURRO. 

After that, it was a short walk over to Nusta Spa (Yelp reviews here)-- the first LEED-certified Gold (green) spa in the U.S. 

We were greeted at reception and then taken into the women's locker room.  We both rinsed off in their lovely and spacious showers (it's DC, it's summer, you do the math).  We then went into their lounge, grabbed some flavored water and filled out some intake forms.  The benches were not the most comfortable places to sit (as someone with back issues I've learned to pay attention to little things like this).

Emily and I had three services planned each:
   
Express Body Polish (or as I think Emily may have called it "massage foreplay" -- a "full body exfoliation and intense moisturization treatment" -- I was with Chardette, Emily was with Imi.  It was 25 wonderful minutes of getting all the dead skin sloughed off my sun-smacked body.)

Nusta Calm Massage (Your massage therapist (once again with Chardette) will draw from a range of techniques to help the body release stress, gently loosen muscle tightness and increase your overall sense of peace and well-being) (Emily opted for the Nusta Deep Massage with Imi.) 

Express Facial (Ideal for clients on the go or those who want a quick pick-me-up between treatments. Includes cleansing, exfoliation and a customized mask). 

Overall -- I think we finished our services both feeling very relaxed and pampered.  Though, in the future we might just skip the body polish and the facials and just get extra long massages, especially as the appointments were scheduled right on top of each other (leaving little time to bask in the glow of the body scrub or massage). 

I'd rate Chardette a 4.5 out of 5.  I'd rate the spa as a whole closer to a 3.  They need to pay a little more attention to the details that make going to the spa luxurious. 

We then went to my local nail salon to get pedis -- and I was saddened that Emily didn't get treated very well, and the girl doing my pedicure actually cut my cuticle back too far, to the point that I was bleeding.  It wasn't the standard amazing service that I normally get. 

IN SUM...

Go look at the picture of the Nutella churro again.