UTMDouble: Between

I ran UTMB. It was fine. I'll write a report later.

Afterwards, I cleaned up, cheered the final finishers, shouting "dae-han-min-guk" (대한민국) at the South Koreans, and got a veggie burger with Jan. I took a train to Vallorcine and then Martigny, Switzerland and stayed in a crappy hotel near the art museum.

The next day I didn't go to the art museum because I don't really care for the impressionists or antique automobiles. I also didn't go to the St. Bernard dog breed museum because even though I love dogs, I don't particularly care for purebreds (even if St. Bernards seem pretty cool as far as breeds go).

I sat at a cafe, but unfortunately outside is where everyone smokes rather than enjoying fresh air, so that's weird. I got a McVeggie at McDonald's because McDonald's piloted their US veggie burger in *Texas* and, surprise, it didn't do so well. It was decent as a crispy chicken sandwich substitute, but like all McDonald's sandwiches, is tiny, and could really use a tomato or better toppings.

Then I took the bus to a big pool/spa hotel, Hotel Des Bains de Saillon. It was phenomenal. Thankfully school must be back in session so it wasn't too crowded or loud with kids, and there were only two women glamming for their Instagram followers despite cameras being verboten. It didn't have very strong jacuzzi jets, or even very hot water (nothing I'd call hot, just warm) but it did have a "thermal river" you could gently float in endless loops, and a great sauna, steam, and cold plunge house.

I didn't know relaxation was so nice. So nice.

Then I ate two whole pizzas and had two glasses of wine and had my wallet and passport stolen. Oh wait, I'm losing my mind, no I didn't.

I did eat two whole pizzas and had some local red wines (Pinot Noir and Gamay: cheap, local, nothing stood out) in the hotel restaurant, where I contemplated why European customer service is so awful compared to the US. Does it have anything to do with the waitstaff earning a decent wage? (I'd be willing to make that trade-off if so.)

I finished and headed back upstairs to my room. The hotel room door was ajar. Oh, gimme a break, housekeeping, why did you need to go in my room, and why did you leave the door ajar? I walked straight to the back of the room to the safe, which was open as I'd left it...except empty. Shit! My wallet and passport were stolen! I sprinted out of the room to the elevators, and texted Amy as I was headed down. This is Switzerland, this isn't supposed to happen! I pounded on the reception desk, and a manager came out to see me. I explained the situation (next time say "robbed" not "burgled" dummy), and she was shocked, but immediately helpful. She asked shall we go to the room and see, and that we would call the police. We hurried back to the elevator, and I explained exactly what happened: I'd left the room, shut the door, gone to eat, and when I got back, the door was ajar and my stuff was gone.

We got to my room together, and the door was shut (because I had just shut it). I unlocked it. My phone was ringing because Amy was calling. I walked in, dropped the keycard in my panic, picked it up and put it in the holder by the door to turnon the light, and all my stuff was there. Untouched. Everything was fine.

The employee handled it like a pro. She left pretty quickly, so I was left to doubt my sanity by myself, and then with Amy over the phone.

I assume I had walked into another room. Why didn't I notice it wasn't mine? Did I go to 475 instead of 457, as I had done in the morning, when it was the apprentice employee's fault for writing the wrong number on my keycard? No, because I think I remember the direction I sprinted to the elevators. So maybe 455 or 447. Why was *that* door ajar?

Anyway, as amazing and relaxing as the sauna was, my brain is clearly still a little broken from UTMB nights without sleep. I'm going to try and rectify some of that right now. Good night.