Flirty Thirties, Sporty Forties

This is the event I had been looking forward to during the entire trip, as much as I looked forward to the spa day in Bali! It was not cheap, but it was considerably cheaper than spending a night here!  And this is one of those memories I'll treasure forever.  So without further adieu - High Tea! I made my reservation for 1:00pm, first sitting.  This is important, because it gets you the best choice of where to sit.  And I arrived early to ensure this.  I wanted a seat facing the city as well as water, instead of just water. Selfie in lobby while waiting Who needs sleep? Golden elevators, of course! My table faces NE.  Spectacular, isn't it? They had a tea menu and this little hotel-shaped stand with sugar cubes, Splenda, sugar swizzle sticks. Sadly, they weren't for sale in the gift shop or I probably would have bought one!   First, they bring you a hot towel and this platter of dates with almonds. ...

I hired a driver so I could take a tour of parts of the island.  In retrospect, I could have hired anyone once I got there since everyone was more than willing to drive me around for a day, but I found a nice guy that had good reviews on Trip Advisor and he was great.  I didn't want to do all the temples and Luwak coffee , so I gave him a list of places I was interested in and he figured out the best order to do them in. First: the famous Tegalalang Rice Terraces.  This one is definitely cooler than the local ones I walked past, but I also didn't feel the need to spend a whole ton of time here. Hello from Tegalalang The hotel gave me another frangipani and a special bracelet (not visible) when I left.  Once I had looked my fill, we got on the road again and headed to the volcano. It still shows where the lava burned the land during the last eruption around 16 years ago While at the volcano, I opted to get a he...