A most welcome romantic surprise.

Friday afternoon, I hopped a train into the city to meet the husband for what I thought was a quick dinner with friends. We were limited in our dinner choices because we had to catch the last train out to our town, which left by 10:45.I admit I was less than enthusiastic, as I had spent Thursday curled in to a ball, felled by a massive migraine.

I got of the train at Market east and met the Husband, who led me on a leisurely walk to Old City. We ended up stopping "for a breather" at the doorway of one Terme di Aroma spa...where it turns out that he had made arrangements for me to get a ninety-minute massage while he wandered off to grab a drink or three for himself. Oh, yes. It was heaven.

After being pummeled, rubbed and otherwise pampered for an hour and a half, Husband showed up and we walked again. "We have time before dinner. Let's get a drink!" I looked at him skeptically: "Dude. I am so relaxed right now that if you put a drink in me, I'd fall asleep." "Well, let's just stop in here."

It took me a minute to realize that we were, in fact, not in a bar, but in the Penn View Hotel. In fact, I was so relaxed and generally trusting that I didn't realize something was up until he hit the "UP" elevator button. "Huh? Is the bar upstairs...wait. This is a hotel! Did you get us a room?" He answered with a very broad grin.
There was champagne and a cheese plate waiting for us, and the room was fabulous. There was a marble jacuzzi tub the size of a wading pool!

After a snack and a nap, we wandered through the streets of Old City, looking at the galleries and boutiques that were open late for First Friday. Drinks at Sassafras and dinner and salsa dancing at Cuba Libre....

It was a fabulous night.