This Prince swept Anna -me- away, into his arms, into his sports car, into his kingdom in a far away land and they lived a magical life ever after...Oh...how sweet...how lovely...
...Yes, it was... A life of shooting star-cocktails and rainbow-hors d'oeuvres, they danced till the wee morning hours, wrapped tightly and embracing into kiss after kiss and a world of pure glitter pink BLISS...
YYYEAHHHHHH...
BANNNNNNNNNNNGGGGG!!!!
Too good to be true...
Hello everyone, dream over!
That BANG came out of nowhere, it arrived like a tsunami, swooooshhhh, and everything just drowned. But hey, not the PRINCE and me...We are still here, holding on, hand in hand, swimming against the tide, making it to the shore and out of breath and out of sight we got up, smiled and looked for our new tomorrow...
" We can always build a sand castle" my Prince said with a crooked smile...
And life changed... right there right then...
Cinderella- once Princess- was Cinderella once again...
It does suit the season anyhow...
Happy Pumpkin times!!!
But this is the past, and one day, I promise - I vow - I pledge I will tell all the juicy history Mademoiselle destiny has written for me...
And here I am...at a lovely place called 'Canyon Ranch' in Tucson Arizona...Not so bad you must think for a fallen Cinderella...
How did I get here?
Don't ask...a 27 hour trip with 4 stops and the most horrible airline I ever stepped my poor feet into, called JET BLUE. Jet blue advertises with great success, it even fooled Prince into believing, that they must be good. We booked the higher class, not that this means much on JET BLUE. The plane, to start with, looks like some war truck taking of for some terrorist wipe out mission. I got the eebie jeebies right then, but too late to run away. No curtains, no parting sections, just one giant grey hole with zombie looking individuals, many of them sporting Army like haircuts and tattoos. Nothing wrong with tattoos, but here and now, everything WRONG. Now Jet blue, proudly screams into magazine pages and TV ads, that they have more than 30 free TV channels - FOR EVERY PASSENGER. Darling, isn't that just lovely. Get stupefied on your next 6-hour flight, without any food (unless you count plastic wrapped chemicals and cola and soda...JUNK) and stare into your PERSONAL TV SCREEN. LUXURY!!!
Isn't it?
Did I mention, that the seats recline about 3 cm, if that much at all? Can you just imagine, a 6 hour flight (after about a 15 hour trip from Europe), from New York to Phoenix, upright like I swallowed a broom, with hundreds of flickering TV screens (luxury....), plastic wrapped synthetics called FOOD (but DIET) and sugary drinks from cans, Zombies staring only at the flickering monsters and a crew dressed like homeless without the once so much adored trademark of America - A BIG WHITE SMILE , while meanwhile being convinced, that this plane is an army carrier, mistaking us for volunteer warriors....HELL!!! Only my newly purchased book, "High Society", the life of Grace Kelly keeps me sane and the pain from my stiff back bearable.
The longest 6 hours of my life later, we arrived in Phoenix, to take a car for another 2 hours to the ranch... This is how we got here and how I got to write?
Well, I had a lot of time to kill in the air and Lufthansa (not Jet Blue) had an amazing selection of films, so it was Julie&Julia (I am a fan of Julia Child's cooking and writing, but I did not know the Julie story) and that blog thing and Julie's lostness, that reminded me of myself and just inspired to do some blogging too... The other trigger is an email from a friend linking her page to some interesting blog-entry (all I saw now was BLOGBLOGBLOG) with a very intriguing chart, called CINDERELLA CHART. The writer, Derek Sivers debates about a speech he attended, by American novelist Kurt Vonnegut (died in 2007), which explains the Cinderella syndrome of people, how everyone wants a fairy-tale life with some Drama seasoning, but usually life is no more exciting than a grey constant line somewhere between happiness and unhappiness and the bit of excitement there might be, is distorted proportionality by our own created hunger for theater.... This made me wonder, ponder and finally disagree passionately. Because my life has been far from a boring straight line and I just asked, am I the exception or was this honorable novelist just plainly wrong or had the wrong case studies?...
( I know enough people whose chart would be closely resembling the uncontrolled tremble before a massive Volcano outbreak, and no need for inventing Drama)
???
http://sivers.org/drama
So I actually sat down and drew my own Cinderella Chart. It is a very condensed version, as I only had A4 paper, but it is enough to get a taste. And hence, the name was given - Fallen Cinderella, because this is what I am.
So here I am, writing my first blog, not knowing anything about it, but I like to write anyway. Usually it is my leather-bound diary, which travels with me everywhere I go (obviously I have many).
Stuffed with scribblings (some not readable any longer), dried flowers, notes, cards, receipts and 'after a few too many'- poetry..
And Canyon Ranch...here we are, just a moment in my life, where I start this blogging. I am clueless on how to blog, what to expect and how on earth anyone will find my blog, since I am not who I am. I am Cinderella and I am called Anna. But one day, when things calm down again I will open the doors (gates maybe) to let my true self out again...
I will write anything that crosses my mind, and this is a lot. I will tell you secrets about love, I will share my passion for fashion (a healthy mix of vintage and designers), I will tempt you in the kitchen, I will try to figure out common (cleaning dishes, drying cloths in the sun, fighting every day disasters) cores, that a fallen Cinderella has to learn late in life and I will take you around the world for traveling and eating, two of my favorite things in life...
CANYON RANCH
Well, let's say this first: it is no holiday and pampering trip for us - it is somewhat of a fast forward school term for my Prince (he still is and always will be one), as he is momentarily into the beauty concept for a new business dream idea. I am here to try all services - a beauty guinea pig one could say (heaven? Oh no... it's painful!) and to report back to the Prince front with my honest and trusted comments.
How did I get here?
Don't ask...a 27 hour trip with 4 stops and the most horrible airline I ever stepped my poor feet into, called JET BLUE. Jet blue advertises with great success, it even fooled Prince into believing, that they must be good. We booked the higher class, not that this means much on JET BLUE. The plane, to start with, looks like some war truck taking of for some terrorist wipe out mission. I got the eebie jeebies right then, but too late to run away. No curtains, no parting sections, just one giant grey hole with zombie looking individuals, many of them sporting Army like haircuts and tattoos. Nothing wrong with tattoos, but here and now, everything WRONG. Now Jet blue, proudly screams into magazine pages and TV ads, that they have more than 30 free TV channels - FOR EVERY PASSENGER. Darling, isn't that just lovely. Get stupefied on your next 6-hour flight, without any food (unless you count plastic wrapped chemicals and cola and soda...JUNK) and stare into your PERSONAL TV SCREEN. LUXURY!!!
Did I mention, that the seats recline about 3 cm, if that much at all? Can you just imagine, a 6 hour flight (after about a 15 hour trip from Europe), from New York to Phoenix, upright like I swallowed a broom, with hundreds of flickering TV screens (luxury....), plastic wrapped synthetics called FOOD (but DIET) and sugary drinks from cans, Zombies staring only at the flickering monsters and a crew dressed like homeless without the once so much adored trademark of America - A BIG WHITE SMILE , while meanwhile being convinced, that this plane is an army carrier, mistaking us for volunteer warriors....HELL!!! Only my newly purchased book, "High Society", the life of Grace Kelly keeps me sane and the pain from my stiff back bearable.
The longest 6 hours of my life later, we arrived in Phoenix, to take a car for another 2 hours to the ranch... This is how we got here and how I got to write?
( I know enough people whose chart would be closely resembling the uncontrolled tremble before a massive Volcano outbreak, and no need for inventing Drama)
???
http://sivers.org/drama
“People LOVE that story! This story arc has been written a thousand times in a thousand tales. And because of it, people think their lives are supposed to be like this.”
But the problem is, life is really like this...
So I actually sat down and drew my own Cinderella Chart. It is a very condensed version, as I only had A4 paper, but it is enough to get a taste. And hence, the name was given - Fallen Cinderella, because this is what I am.
So here I am, writing my first blog, not knowing anything about it, but I like to write anyway. Usually it is my leather-bound diary, which travels with me everywhere I go (obviously I have many).
Stuffed with scribblings (some not readable any longer), dried flowers, notes, cards, receipts and 'after a few too many'- poetry..
And Canyon Ranch...here we are, just a moment in my life, where I start this blogging. I am clueless on how to blog, what to expect and how on earth anyone will find my blog, since I am not who I am. I am Cinderella and I am called Anna. But one day, when things calm down again I will open the doors (gates maybe) to let my true self out again...
I will write anything that crosses my mind, and this is a lot. I will tell you secrets about love, I will share my passion for fashion (a healthy mix of vintage and designers), I will tempt you in the kitchen, I will try to figure out common (cleaning dishes, drying cloths in the sun, fighting every day disasters) cores, that a fallen Cinderella has to learn late in life and I will take you around the world for traveling and eating, two of my favorite things in life...
CANYON RANCH
Well, let's say this first: it is no holiday and pampering trip for us - it is somewhat of a fast forward school term for my Prince (he still is and always will be one), as he is momentarily into the beauty concept for a new business dream idea. I am here to try all services - a beauty guinea pig one could say (heaven? Oh no... it's painful!) and to report back to the Prince front with my honest and trusted comments.
Let me give you the scoop: This place is highly praised by Conde Nast for ZEN-BEAUTY-HEALTH-RELAXATION... time and time again
This internationally renowned health resort is consistently named among the best spas by Travel + Leisure and
Condé Nast Traveler magazines. Most recently, Canyon Ranch in Tucson was named among the top five
favorite destination spas by readers of Condé Nast Traveler magazine (2009) – and received American Airlines
Celebrated Living magazine’s ‘Top Spa in the U.S.’ award for the fifth consecutive year (2009).
Okay, but it is late now, I am sooooooo tired and how can one judge spiritual ambiance that late. (yes, one can...one could feel it...)
Our bungalow though, comes to a pleasant surprise. It is newly refurbished in a mountain-hut sort of fashion, with earthy creamy colors and just very cozy and spacious. We have our own kitchen (good...in case the healthy food gets too much of healthy), 2 bathrooms (yes! very important), a deliciously oversized fluffy bed, a sound system throughout the villa and a fireplace. YIPPPPPIE!
Good night!
Here is the (my) summary of the ranch, after we get the grand tour the following morning:
More than a handful of swimming pools is a perfect plus for mermaids like myself... BUT,
I am a fish and dive into anything- to the point that I seem to collect strange water-born presents from my aquatic playtimes... Especially after green pond-like pools in a tiny Mexican villages... But here, at the healthy Ranch I cannot get myself over a certain SOMETHING-FEELING- and I just refuse to try the pools... Maybe it is the machinery for underwater workouts, or maybe the abundant choice of floating toys, or maybe the un-earthy sounds of electric appliances... My swimming OMMM is disturbed deeply and after 4 days at the Ranch not even once I put as much as a toe into the waters...
There are bicycles for rent and it is possible to bike around the huge property.
Some 'off-road paths' are specially man-made (isn't that a contradiction?) to give the feeling of wild adventure, but honestly, it is just a bit too fake for my taste. There is a meditation area on the way, with a Buddhist prayer labyrinth and a wishing-teepee, very cute, but again, lacking the sense of real and genuine. It somehow reminds me of a bunch of kids, trying to create a grown up environment, while really just playing it... I am again longing for that special spiritual ommmm, one would expect in such places.
Maybe I am too much of a traveler, seen and done too much to be easily impressed, or fooled for that matter?
Our adventurous ways take us beyond the Ranch gates (highly guarded) one hot afternoon, and the feelings, a mix of thriller-movie, something is terribly wrong, pinch me-am I alive, crushed over us like a bad LSD trip... We returned to the safety of our fortress as fast as our legs could paddle us...
My imaginative mind (since I was starving the whole 4 days I maybe was tripping, but more on food in a bit) had it's own song in mind, enhancing the goose bumps scenario.
"Once upon a time in the west"
THE MAN WITH THE HARMONICA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6BQKFs3-VM
bibbbbber... bibbbbbber... (in German the title is even more fitting: "Play me the song of death"...)
bibbbbbberbibbbbbbbbber
I am a fish and dive into anything- to the point that I seem to collect strange water-born presents from my aquatic playtimes... Especially after green pond-like pools in a tiny Mexican villages... But here, at the healthy Ranch I cannot get myself over a certain SOMETHING-FEELING- and I just refuse to try the pools... Maybe it is the machinery for underwater workouts, or maybe the abundant choice of floating toys, or maybe the un-earthy sounds of electric appliances... My swimming OMMM is disturbed deeply and after 4 days at the Ranch not even once I put as much as a toe into the waters...
There are bicycles for rent and it is possible to bike around the huge property.
Some 'off-road paths' are specially man-made (isn't that a contradiction?) to give the feeling of wild adventure, but honestly, it is just a bit too fake for my taste. There is a meditation area on the way, with a Buddhist prayer labyrinth and a wishing-teepee, very cute, but again, lacking the sense of real and genuine. It somehow reminds me of a bunch of kids, trying to create a grown up environment, while really just playing it... I am again longing for that special spiritual ommmm, one would expect in such places.
Maybe I am too much of a traveler, seen and done too much to be easily impressed, or fooled for that matter?
Our adventurous ways take us beyond the Ranch gates (highly guarded) one hot afternoon, and the feelings, a mix of thriller-movie, something is terribly wrong, pinch me-am I alive, crushed over us like a bad LSD trip... We returned to the safety of our fortress as fast as our legs could paddle us...
"Once upon a time in the west"
THE MAN WITH THE HARMONICA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6BQKFs3-VM
bibbbbber... bibbbbbber... (in German the title is even more fitting: "Play me the song of death"...)
bibbbbbberbibbbbbbbbber
Naturally there are tennis courts...
A meditation pond (the size of our big bathtub) again leaves me stuttering for thought... This must be a joke? And right next to the manicured asphalt road?
Meditation pond?
The spiritual section houses an Astrologist, a Shaman, a handwriting analyst, a sweat lounge and prayer room, a creative workshop and a few other interesting things.
The other section is just medical. Blood testing, Peepee investigation and stuff like that.
There are 2 restaurants, one indoor and one Cafe at one of the pools, both of poor visual stimulation. And with that comes the 'healthy GOURMET' cuisine... Advertised proudly as such, I was looking forward to this part with pure delight.
Well, healthy, maybe yes, but Gourmet? I have lost 3 kg in 3 days and this might be the successful secret of the farm, as to loose is the goal of most ladies and gentlemen here... But not much of a secret to loose, if there is nothing to eat... Let's just confirm: I love food... But if I close my eyes and I cannot distinguish if I am chewing a lamb, a chicken or a Mahi mahi something is wrong. Bland might be the word to describe the healthy cuisine at the Ranch. But I know, and will prove in recipes to come, that healthy never ever has to be bland. Healthy actually can never be bland, simply because healthy means fresh and organic, harvested at the moment of delicious ripeness and cooked with love.
My humble quest for freshly squeezed juices (health-farm norm, one would think) was another disappointment. Who would not expect a rather grand Juice bar with an abundance of colorful delights in all imaginable (and unimaginable) shapes and sizes, just like a Van Gogh masterpiece? I did succeed after some heated conversations with different ranked staff members and got my early bird (special order only) carrot fluid, no ginger or any other exciting additive from Mother Earth's womb available though.
And hey... no red wine for dinner, to make up for all those lost calories... Oh well... I may be not a good health farm tester, or maybe I am too spoiled by the European way of healthy... Good food... Good wine... A dive into the MED and a long well deserved fiesta before we dance of those calories on a fire-lit beach...
So here is the Gourmet layout:
Mornings
*Ready made (from a can or a machine) IHHHHHHHH!! juices, in extremely vibrant rainbow colors
freshly juiced or squeezed only available on very very keen request
*Cornflakes, dried fruit
*Fresh fruit of very limited choice (poor choice)
*Toast, not freshly baked and not very organic
*an egg bar-making scrambles and omelets, eatable, but not delicious
*Jams and butter served in 1-use plastic things, like on a ferry boat (awful-where is my homemade jam?)
and where is my green and organic approach?
* Coffee by the liter (isn't that unhealthy) served from machines is everywhere available around the ranch grounds - the fast-way was adapted, and coffee would be taken in easy to use-easy to throw away styrofoam cups... what remarkable green ways, I thought... especially as I watched fellow guests use no less than 8 or 9 of those, a day!
* tea was available in a small selection, served with the cheap floating tea-bag in a rather shabby and used looking aluminum pot... fresh herbs, fresh tea leaves anyone? Served in style with raw sugar or organic honey?
Lunch
* a choice of salads from the salad-bar, again of very poor variety
*steamed vegetables, especially broccoli (not much to go wrong)
*main courses- fish, meat or pasta (I am sorry to admit, it all tasted alike)
*sorbets and ice-creams, the best dish on the menu (not made at the ranch, I guess) served with a few berries (again, if pushed and harassed, berries could be ordered even for breakfast)
*lunch at the CAFE was more snack-like, but again, pretty much uneatable (Prince had twice a huge stomach pain, after eating meat at the CAFE - ORGANIC??? Happy cows???)
*Drinks from machines... ready made... how disgusting...
Dinner
*Just like lunch, nothing else to excite us
*Oh no, I forgot, the PASTA BAR- 2 choices of pasta (not homemade, not whole wheat) with a very boring sauce, again, far from organic, far from delicious
Unless I am wrong, which I don't think I am, as I loveeeeeeeeee food, the ingredients at the farm where of poor quality and of very poor variety. For the incredible money paid at the ranch, there should be only the BEST!
Freshness and goodness should be key. There should be a farm on-site, cultivating the every day needs of the guests. There should be cows delivering fresh milk and cheese and yogurt and there should be a herb garden for the purest and greenest of teas.
Evidence of the Gourmet food... Gourmet served like in a Canteen?
But hey, I lost 3 kilos... (Can't wait to get them back though)
So here is the Gourmet layout:
Mornings
*Ready made (from a can or a machine) IHHHHHHHH!! juices, in extremely vibrant rainbow colors
freshly juiced or squeezed only available on very very keen request
*Cornflakes, dried fruit
*Fresh fruit of very limited choice (poor choice)
*Toast, not freshly baked and not very organic
*an egg bar-making scrambles and omelets, eatable, but not delicious
*Jams and butter served in 1-use plastic things, like on a ferry boat (awful-where is my homemade jam?)
and where is my green and organic approach?
* Coffee by the liter (isn't that unhealthy) served from machines is everywhere available around the ranch grounds - the fast-way was adapted, and coffee would be taken in easy to use-easy to throw away styrofoam cups... what remarkable green ways, I thought... especially as I watched fellow guests use no less than 8 or 9 of those, a day!
* tea was available in a small selection, served with the cheap floating tea-bag in a rather shabby and used looking aluminum pot... fresh herbs, fresh tea leaves anyone? Served in style with raw sugar or organic honey?
Lunch
* a choice of salads from the salad-bar, again of very poor variety
*steamed vegetables, especially broccoli (not much to go wrong)
*main courses- fish, meat or pasta (I am sorry to admit, it all tasted alike)
*sorbets and ice-creams, the best dish on the menu (not made at the ranch, I guess) served with a few berries (again, if pushed and harassed, berries could be ordered even for breakfast)
*lunch at the CAFE was more snack-like, but again, pretty much uneatable (Prince had twice a huge stomach pain, after eating meat at the CAFE - ORGANIC??? Happy cows???)
*Drinks from machines... ready made... how disgusting...
Dinner
*Just like lunch, nothing else to excite us
*Oh no, I forgot, the PASTA BAR- 2 choices of pasta (not homemade, not whole wheat) with a very boring sauce, again, far from organic, far from delicious
Unless I am wrong, which I don't think I am, as I loveeeeeeeeee food, the ingredients at the farm where of poor quality and of very poor variety. For the incredible money paid at the ranch, there should be only the BEST!
Freshness and goodness should be key. There should be a farm on-site, cultivating the every day needs of the guests. There should be cows delivering fresh milk and cheese and yogurt and there should be a herb garden for the purest and greenest of teas.
Evidence of the Gourmet food... Gourmet served like in a Canteen?Fire... yes there were Fireplaces, in the villa and at the lounge... I am a great fan of fireplaces... they are soothing and healing, relaxing and rejuvenating. For me, a roaring fire, if at home, on a beach or by the pool, creates an ambiance as reviving as the sound and sight of water, the morning chorus of the birds or the soothing notes of a classical piano sonnet... Fire should always play a great part in the concept of beauty and spa.
So here I am, in my beautiful casita, newly decorated and charmingly cozy, but with a (gas) fireplace that has been disconnected for my own safety... YES! You did read right! MY OWN SAFETY!
When I call the front desk I get reminded, that there is a fire place in the lounge area... A very romantic approach, with the other 200 guests and the never-ending chit-chatter in the background... My Prince looks as un-amused as me and we decide to head to TUCSON town tonight-now- for a romantic dinner with wine and flavorful food (YUUUUUUMMMMMMMMMM) to a place known to us in whispered secrecy (PSSSST...) by the cute magic-wand carrying nurse... (really, she did carry a magic wand, no kidding)
So here I am, in my beautiful casita, newly decorated and charmingly cozy, but with a (gas) fireplace that has been disconnected for my own safety... YES! You did read right! MY OWN SAFETY!
When I call the front desk I get reminded, that there is a fire place in the lounge area... A very romantic approach, with the other 200 guests and the never-ending chit-chatter in the background... My Prince looks as un-amused as me and we decide to head to TUCSON town tonight-now- for a romantic dinner with wine and flavorful food (YUUUUUUMMMMMMMMMM) to a place known to us in whispered secrecy (PSSSST...) by the cute magic-wand carrying nurse... (really, she did carry a magic wand, no kidding)
VIVACE...
VIVACE...
VIVACE...
vivace |vēˈväˌ ch ā; - ch ē| Musicadverb; adjective(esp. as a direction) in a lively and brisk manner.nouna passage or movement marked to be performed in this manner.ORIGIN Italian, ‘brisk, lively,’ from Latin vivax, vivac-.
Mhhhhh, Can you hear the sound of sizzling oil and smell the freshly baked bread (oh, let's not rail off again, bread... still warm from the oven, with seeds and nuts full of goodness, not frozen ready to toast fake-bakes) mhhhhh... ?
Oh, it sounds too good to be true. We are in terribly need of replenishing our stomachs (hungry since JET BLUE)... Let's go!
Ooops, BUT... there is a problem... I almost forgot... I did test the 'elegant facial', and me, who never has facials -because I am so scared of looking like a pizza after - do actually look like a pizza now... Seems like some blackheads went to war with my "facialist" and won- and now, that they are still with me, they are growing into big fat red juicy monsters, or since I am a pizza now- more like purple olives and cherry tomatoes...
Oh no............ Please somebody help me...
COMMENT FROM PRINCE: Anna, since you look like a pizza, it is very... appropriate that we go to an Italian restaurant for dinner... no?
I will try the magic wand, also known in modern days as concealer, myself now...
ABRAKADABRA
Good night everyone, and more tomorrow or if I am still standing later, after our meal...
And if there is the universal power (I did go on a spiritual journey today and I did love it!! But more on this another time..) out there, listening or reading this scribble at the moment - pleasssseee, can you make the food delicious, the wine dark and round and the spots heal away fast tonight?
Anna
I am back!!!
Vivace was ok.
The crowd was quite oldish, the ambiance a bit yesterday.
The food was eatable, but not comparable to real Italian fare, so I won't bother with unsatisfying details. Never so less, we did fill up generously on those evil things called calories.
The wine was a surprise with a rather sporty and unsuitable name for a vino. (maybe it is the red color?)
Ferrari
Well Ferrari-Carano to be precise. A 2007 Pinot Noir with a wonderfully satisfying note of berries, chocolate and cinnamon. We absolutely enjoyed a bottle of Ferrari Red and googling this gem I discovered, that the vineyard seems well worth a visit. Besides making some good wines the Estate organizes special events and has a magnificent 5 acre garden, with a love for tulips. There is even a tulip-hotline to find out the best time to visit the blooming wonders. I think this vineyard just got promoted into my 'MUST SEE-MUST TASTE-MUST VISIT' booklet.
www.ferrari-carano.com
Wroooommmmm... whrooommmm... into bed...
Oh, and did I mention our taxi driver? His comment on the canyon Ranch crowd was one simple word.
BLAND
Oh boy, what do I make of that?
I am as bad as the food here?
I am as bad as the food here?
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