“It’s time to change the way we talk about affairs — and Beyoncé’s ‘Lemonade’ is a powerful first step,” says Dr. Perel.

Here Esther Perel talks about Beyonce’s Lemonade. Esther is a psychotherapist and is one of the most fascinating people I follow. What she discovers about the psyche of human interaction she shares. If you haven’t seen her TED Talks you have to.

She mostly deals with couples therapy. But she has dived so deep into that topic that she is discovering and analyzing things on another level – and I’m totally into it.

If you haven’t see the Beyonce visual album for Lemonade, then you might not understand the extent of emotion, poetry and storytelling that is released in this hour. Not to mention, the artistic talent brought to the table for such a relevant topic. ::This millennial female raises her hand::

Read Esther Perel’s commentary on Beyonce’s ‘Lemonade’: “Grief sedated by orgasm, orgasm heightened by grief”: Beyoncé, “Lemonade” and the new reality of infidelity – Salon.com

It may be 4 months since I stepped foot into this place that I am about to gush over (insert nostalgia), but it’s places like this that leave that magical and memorable impressions on your life…especially when you are in a foreign city, far far away from home and anyone or anything you know…having the time of your life.

Stepping into Aire Ancient Baths – whether it was the one I went to in New York two weeks earlier or their big sister spa in Barcelona, Spain – they both felt like I was entering into another realm…a feeling everyone should treat themselves to in this all too real world.

On this special day, my travel mate Kyle decided to join me for a spa day experience…something even a guys-guy like himself admitted to his buddies was pretty awesome. Being in Barcelona means a lot of walking. And if you’re not walking everywhere, you’re doing it wrong in my opinion. So we took the short 15 minute walk across the city from our place at @balcony_barcelona and lone behold we approached the inviting entrance of Aire.

Aire really knows how to set the mood. The moment you step foot over the threshold of that singular, solid, and grand wood door your experience begins. The lobby is dark. Vaulted. And warm from all the steam rising from the underground baths, sultry showers, steamy steam rooms, and saunas alike. And it must be mentioned that Barcelona in the summer is it’s own sauna in itself. The humidity there was real people. Two to three showers were taken a day. Short and cold ones that is. This particular spa was quite a bit busier than the one in New York, so more bodies meant more steam as well.

We were quickly checked in and escorted back to the mens and women’s locker room where we changed into our bathing suits and robes. Kyle and I met outside the locker rooms by the stairwell that we would then ascend into the dark, steamy and might I say romantic depths of Aire. I must say, this is a wonderful treat to experience with someone else you adore at your side. It is so relaxing. You don’t even have to talk but just enjoy the silence together, sip on provided tea and water while waiting for your treatment is otherworldly pleasurable. I mean, to describe what this underground world looked like would have to be like a magical chamber. Brick walls with candles inset into them flickering every so softly with Moroccan lanterns scattered throughout. The ground was wet every where. Robes were hanging on assigned walls. Long walkways. Glassed in rooms where you’d find your next bathing experience whether it was a warm pool, ice bath, jet pool, sauna or salt pool. Truly enrapturing. It just leaves you asking yourself why more places like this don’t exist because it is so darn relaxing.

So after going through the motions of one bath to the next, the sauna to the steam room, we were approached by a woman who escorted us to the area where our 30 minute massages were to take place. I opted for a foot and shoulder massage while Kyle received a Swedish massage. I have to say that this was not one of the best massages I have received. It was more like I was being tickled. Not what I was looking for after walking the streets of the world for the last 3 weeks. Here nor there, we carried out our time in the jet pool, sipped some more tea and then showered off and headed back into the locker room to put ourselves back together in order to step back out into the real world.

It was a magical day that I will never forget and hold dear to my heart. Barcelona is one of my favorite cities I have been to. The relaxed vibe throughout the city, the friendly people, all of the art I saw, the classic preserved architecture and the yummy food sold me. I look forward to stopping into this city in the near future and I encourage you to take an afternoon and treat yourself to an Aire Ancient Baths experience. They have 5 locations throughout the world. Two down for me, 3 to go!

<p><a href=”https://vimeo.com/143360758″>TEASER &quot;The AIRE experience&quot;</a> from <a href=”https://vimeo.com/aireancientbaths”>AIRE Ancient Baths</a> on <a href=”https://vimeo.com”>Vimeo</a&gt;.</p>

Just north of the state I live in another one of my fellow citizens shot dead nine other of his own mankind and severely hurt 7 others. And it’s a large part of all I can think about.

This very thing keeps happening in the United States. Nobody likes a Debbie Downer but it has to be talked about. I listen to NPR (world news) on the am/fm alarm clock radio all the time, I let it wake me to the world I really do live in …every morning. The way the news reporters deliver this real world stuff can be heavy. But it’s real. And it boggles my mind to think that someone is this far off their rocker where they would rob another beautiful, determined human of their desire to seek knowledge and change the world in whatever way they can – at school. (Or anywhere for that matter!) The gunman asked what everyone’s religion was. What does that matter in the bigger picture? And praise to those who stood firm in their beliefs.

We all have our beliefs but if there is to be one universal concept it should be acceptance. With acceptance comes compassion and the understanding…I feel…of evolution. And we are human so we have that ability in us. Do not judge for you are not the judge. Let others express themselves as they will. So long as we do not harm each other.

We ignore the male who did this bc we want to honor those who were murdered, and I agree!, but what does need to be addressed is the fact that men comprise about 81 percent of all arrests for violent crime and about 63 percent of all arrests for property crime. People have these sick massacre thoughts go through their head. But why? Where did our instructing and child rearing go wrong? It’s time to help our children, our young adults, understand what’s in store for them in terms of the world’s future and why they need to truly find it in them to be at peace with that which they cannot change. If one is to have these thoughts I think it is common sense that they are not okay.

I’m not here to talk politics. I’m just a philosophical chick who wants rainbows in the sky and bunnies hopping around every where. Or something like that. But this is the world we truly live in – and the same moment I captured my pensive self in the Instagram post I linked with this article, I was without an ounce of awareness to this tragedy going on hundreds of miles away – 9 people were shot and murdered at their college. Our realities are all too close in this digital age in my opinion, but it’s high time we use it for good. Have an opinion. Spread and seek knowledge. Be you. Do good. Do not harm another. Accept others and express love and positivity…all day. The rest is just fluffing and the reason we humans need to have governments. Call me a hippie, but love and respect is all we need.

Read the details of the horrific event here: http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/01/us/oregon-college-shooting/

I am totally a breakfast person. Eggs, bacon, brussels, salad…protein and veggies, the whole set up. However, there are those mornings where you wake and you’re just not into eating before you have to head out of the house. But we all know that getting something into your metabolism first thing is the best way to set your body up for success. So who has time to be cooking well-rounded meals? Well, me, sometimes. Other times I don’t. My roommate is crazy about yogurt, so her and I have been talking. Fage (hardly any ingredients), the Greek yogurt, is my go-to for smoothies and a sour-cream substitute normally, but I was interested in getting a smaller packaged on-the-go yogurt into the fridge.

However, if you haven’t seen, the grocery store has about a mile long section to choose from. That can be a bit daunting. Especially when someone like myself tries to keep things one-hundred, gmo-free and organic. Having a healthy gut though, and something quick to grab in the fridge and get in me suddenly became very important. So my next trip to the grocery store meant spending 10 minutes in the yogurt isle, being “that girl” and sifting through each yogurt brand, it’s ingredients, comparing ingredients, putting yogurts back that had way too much sugar, ingredients, gums, and so on and so forth.

Finally I stumbled on “siggi’s” an Icelandic yogurt called “skyr” (skeer). Basically it is made by incubating skim milk with live active cultures. The whey, the water naturally found in milk, is then strained away to make for a much thicker, creamier, concentrated yogurt. It’s said to be similar to greek yogurt but with a milder taste. And don’t expect it to be sweet. They add a little cane sugar and have some varieties with added fruit. However if you would like it to be sweeter I suggest a little swirl-in of honey.

It has 5 ingredients: Pasteurized Skim Milk, Berries, Cane Sugar, Fruit Pectin and the invaluable Live Active Cultures (which are listed). I’m officially a fan. It doesn’t have either of the organic or non-gmo labels but it has the least ingredients, and the most important ingredients and levels: In a 5.3 oz cup you have the ever-important cultures, 20% calcium, 14g of protein, 11g of sugar (just fine when it comes to yogurt because milk has naturally occurring sugars along with berries), and is from cows that are grass-fed and not given any hormones.

In a world with so many options, and with so many friends tuning into what GMO’s are, why it’s important to eat as organic as you can, and so many friends turning vegan, I wanted to share which product you should be pulling off the shelf without having to do the leg work….now that I’ve done it for you. 😉 I’m not a vegan, vegetarian or pescatarian but I don’t eat red meat and these days hardly eat any chicken. Sounds like I might be on my way to being a pescatarian. However I do love eggs and some milder dairy products.

Siggi’s has a great, honest, story that’s worth the quick read and backing. Click their name and pick one up for yourself to try. I purchased mine at my local Von’s (Safeway).

I get it, I’m a lucky dog to even be able to complain about how absolutely insanely sore a certain muscle in my inner and upper calves are. I get it. But I put my mind to this. I booked a few flights. Made a few contacts. Established relationships. Relationships with banks, and people. And now I never want to return to America. Just kidding. Or am I?

All this traveling really does make a what used to be 2-3 days a week gym girl, one day a week a 4-5 mile run chick, and one day a week Bikram yogi turn soft and feel fat and gross; mostly because I am on a time table and agenda I most definitely do not attend to on my American schedule. So with my flem-y cough and fatigued body in-tow, I peddled my way from The Amsterdam Artis Zoo (blog post to come) over to The City Street Spa to escape for a two hour session that encompassed a 60 minute body exfoliating scrub and 60 minute facial. Allow me to go into detail….

I pulled up on my super comfy cruiser bike. I called her Daisy Dew. Locked that baby up and walked into this cute little, and fairly randomly located, shop that extended into a glorious and abundantly lit teal day spa…tiffany blue walls and all – complimented by the a rich mahogany stained exterior.

On my right and left immediately were tall product walls. After that the right beheld the white glassy reception desk. On my left were pedicure stations. Ahead was the two manicure stations. Down the hall on the left was firstly the bathroom, then a treatment room, then the changing room, then my treatment room, a relaxation lounge, and beyond that I did not explore but heard what went on and I believe it was another two treatment rooms…for shorter appointments.

I used the restroom first (tip: go beforehand whether you have to go or not for a pleasant experience), went into changing room, got completely naked and into robe and flip flops. Came out and was promptly directed into my treatment room down the hall – the very next door on the left. It was quaint and the perfectly arranged procedural-room for what was about to ensue.

Firstly, I signed up for the “Special Treatment” called The City Street Spa Detox. It was a two hour treatment. The first procedure consisting of a 60 minute Aromatherapy Detox and Revive session which used seaweed and sunflower oil to scrub away all my gross, dead, travelin’ skin. Then another mademoiselle entered the room to carry out my 60 minute facial which consisted of multiple layers of Dermologica products (uhhhh-mazing), and an oatmeal mask (um, yumm! …definitely asked how to make that one at home, holy wow). I was dozy throughout this treatment, but once I smelt that oatmeal mask on my face I was hungry. Like, need it now hungry. I could feel the nutrients in my face. Crazy how our exterior skin, and the face alike, truly absorb nutrients directly from applied foods.

So, between treatments I was asked to step into the shower that was in the same room. Bright idea to have a quaint little shower in there… It doesn’t disrupt this otherworldly water-filled and sensual 2 hours… it adds to it. I was uninterrupted in this almost hospital like room, but knowing you’re only getting healthier from the stay as well as more relaxed. Sign me up! I was given about 5 minutes and a towel to dry off with. It was lovely to smell the aromas of that scrub meet warm water on my body. My whole body felt like butter after I showered. And with what was close to being a deep-tissue massage performed while I was scrubbed, I was feeling damn good. And now a facial? Unreal. Best decision ever.

I zonked out during my facial. She was good. I’m pretty sure she was Irish. It’s hard to talk while you are getting a facial. I talked a lot more to my masseuse who was cool. Born and raised in Amsterdam. Fairly fluent in English. I could tell our cultural backgrounds and outlooks on life might be different. In a great way. We were enlightening for each other. And she was so knowledgeable. I liked that, especially because it makes me feel like she knows what she’s doing. And I get the most out of my experience…a physically pleasing time as well as a mentally stimulating and enlightening conversation.

Anyways. We all wrapped up, I got to wake up slowly in the relaxation room next to my treatment room. They served me Lipton tea and I grabbed a magazine, that I didn’t open. Tried to get on their wifi to post pictures of this place! (@sablethena) I enjoyed a little time in this sunny room with the sheepskin enveloping my little robe-covered tush.

I checked out after about a half hour of chilling out, and getting dressed. Greeted and thanked by the owner, I signed out, hopped on my bike and headed back to our adorable AirBnB flat. Which I also recommend.

I highly recommend a stop in this beautiful little chill-out spot in Amsterdam. You don’t have to go as big as a I did (I needed it) but it’s “the spot” in Amsterdam, I promise 😉

Cheers to you The City Street Spa in Amsterdam!