Sunday, January 20, 2019

And, we're back!

Hello from Italy! Yes, it's true, we've made the move. Sergio and I (and 2 NY cats) have been living here in the mountains of Emilia-Romagna since Sept 1. We had been thinking about the move for some time, and we happened upon a perfect house, so we decided to do it.

The house is in the Appennini mountains between Bologna and Modena, at the top of Monte di Montalto, with beautiful views all around.




We adore Bologna and have friends there, so we decided to look in the country surrounding Bologna and we were lucky to find this amazing, historical house that very few others would be willing to take on.


I miss NYC very much, but I take comfort in the fact that we can still visit often and stay with friends. And we hope that many will come visit us here, as we have many guest rooms, especially in the summer.

On Tuesdays (and some random other days) I will be working in Bologna, at the apartment of very kind friends. Hopefully I will have my own office there soon, but for the time being, this view from my temporary office isn't bad.


And now that we've completed some of the work on the winter (heated) side of the house, my massage office at home is ready.



Once the weather is warmer, my massage office will move to the other side of the house, with this view.



Fortunately for me, Italy is home to many thermal bath towns. I will be keeping a log of my visits to them, and sharing information for fellow bathing enthusiasts. Up next - my "local" spa town - Porretta Terme. Intrigued?



Monday, January 7, 2013

Karen Devine, Licensed Massage Therapist and Self-Appointed Know-It-All About All Things Bathing

I have mixed feelings as I write my first entry in this blog.  It seems everyone has a blog now - waxing poetic on subjects, hoping people will notice and enjoy, and maybe even comment(!).  I was a bit reluctant to join the tribe.

My reasons for finally giving in are two-fold.  Mainly, I needed a website to reach massage clients, and this seemed an easier route than setting up a real website.*  But also, for many years I've had a burgeoning love of all things bathing - hot springs, saunas, steam rooms, indoor pools of hot water, cold pools of water, birch branches, massages, scrubbing layers of skin off - and I feel I do have a bit of knowledge to offer to those who might be looking to experience these activities. 

So, when procrastination doesn't get the best of me, I'll post reviews of spas here in the New York City area, and also of places around the world - ones I've visited in the past and ones I hope to reach in the future.

But I will stop here for today, because before I start massaging away others' aches and pains, I must attend to my own tricky SI (sacroilliac) joint and hop into my home "bathing" device - my new infrared sauna.  Infrared saunas are a bit new on the scene and although I think it will never be my FAVORITE type of sauna, having one in my massage studio has been great so far.  Until I can build a real Russian sauna, or an outdoor Japanese bathing garden, my little infrared sauna is making me feel pretty great.

There was not a lot of unbiased information online when I was researching the purchase of said infrared sauna.  Only ridiculous claims from manufacturers - no, I don't believe you burn 600 calories in 30 mins, nor do I believe that the "chromotherapy" light is effective.  But I do know the heat makes my muscles feel great, and I love the blue lighting!  So my next post will be:  everything you've always wanted to know about infrared saunas, or if you've never heard of an infrared sauna, here's what it is, and furthermore, you should really schedule a massage with me and then you can use the infrared sauna before and after your treatments and see first-hand how great is is.
 
*(Especially easy for me since my partner designed and set up the the blog for me.  Thank you, Sergio.)