The Lavender & Thyme Bed & Breakfast, built in downtown Glenwood Springs in 1903 and lovingly restored as special retreat for vacationers, has a rich history to share.
Your Dutch host, Peter Tijm, has come up with many reasons to visit in November and December.
This November, Lavender & Thyme guests can breakfast with Doc Holliday,
in special posthumous appearances (Or, Rest here In Peace this month!)
In November, Lavender & Thyme celebrates the memorial of Doc Holliday, the famous gunman-gambler-dentist who lived his final days in Glenwood Springs, dying here on November8, 1887.In honor of Doc, we're inviting guests to breakfast with him on the weekends of November 6 and 7 and the long weekend of the Veterans Day holiday, November 11, 12, 13 and 14.
We'll be serving up a special menu of the vittles of his time, including Outlaw Eggs, Cowboy Coffee, the grits of his birthplace and home state of Georgia, and more. Over breakfast, Doc will regale you with stories of his life and times in Glenwood Springs in this special posthumous appearance.
No one knows exactly where Doc's final resting place is, although he's memorialized in nearby Linwood Cemetery.
Several psychics insist that he is buried at the corner of Palmer and 8th Street, the current site of the Lavender & Thyme Bed & Breakfast!
We will happily share the details of this
mysterious theory.
Other treats in store for our November guests include:
- A lantern tour with host Peter Tijm to nearby Linwood Cemetery, where Doc is memorialized and another outlaw, Kid Curry, is laid to rest.
- A shot of whisky (or beverage of choice for visitors of an appropriate age) at the Doc Holliday's Saloon, just two blocks away.
- A complimentary copy of the Walking History Tour Book of Glenwood Springs, for independent exploration of our town's historic core.
Traveling with family? Enjoy European traditions with Lavender & Thyme Bed & Breakfast in November and December
Peter Tijm, your Lavender & Thyme innkeeper and host, was born in the Netherlands. Peter speaks eight languages! If you like, you can practice your conversational Dutch, French, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish or Spanish with Peter. Needless to say, he also speaks English quite well. This fall Peter invites guests to celebrate two European traditions with him, with the St. Martin Feast Day on November 11, and St. Nicholas Day on December 5.
St. Martin's Day
St. Martin's Day, also known as the Feast of St. Martin, Martinstag or Martinmas, is November 11, the feast day of Martin of Tours, who started out as a Roman soldier. He was baptized as an adult and became a monk. It is understood that he was a kind man who led a quiet and simple life. The most famous legend of his life is that he once cut his cloak in half to share with a beggar during a snowstorm, to save the beggar from dying of the cold. That night he dreamed that Jesus was wearing the half-cloak Martin had given away. In Europe, children tour their neighborhoods at night by lantern light, singing for treats which kind neighbors provide. It is an approximate equivalent of American tradition of Halloween trick-or-treating. Guests can enjoy the story, songs and special treats provided by Lavender & Thyme on St. Martin's Day.
Saint Nicholas Day
The tradition of Saint Nicholas Day, usually on December 6, is a festival for children in many countries in Europe related to surviving legends of the saint, and particularly his reputation as a bringer of gifts. The American Santa Claus, as well as the Anglo-Canadian and British Father Christmas, derive from these legends. "Santa Claus" is itself derived from the Dutch Sinterklaas. Lavender & Thyme will be celebrating the entire weekend of December 3, 4 and 5 in honor of Saint Nicholas.
In the Netherlands, Saint Nicholas' Eve is the primary occasion for gift-giving, when his reputed birthday is celebrated. In the days leading up to December 5 (starting when Saint Nicholas has arrived in the Netherlands by steamboat in late November), young children put their shoes in front of the chimneys and sing Sinterklaas songs. Often they put a carrot or some hay in the shoes, as a gift to St. Nicholas' horse. (In recent years the horse has been named Amerigo in Holland and Slechtweervandaag in Flanders.) The next morning they will find a small present in their shoes, ranging sweets to marbles or some other small toy. On the evening of December 5, Sinterklaas brings presents to every child that has behaved him or herself well in the past year (in practice, just like with Santa Claus, all children receive gifts without distinction). This is often done by placing a bag filled with presents outside the house or living room, after which a neighbor or parent bangs the door or window, pretending to be Sinterklaas' assistant. Another option is to hire or ask someone to dress up as Sinterklaas and deliver the presents personally. Sinterklaas wears a bishop's robes including a red cape and mitre and is assisted by many mischievous helpers with black faces and colorful Moorish dress, dating back two centuries. These helpers are called 'Zwarte Pieten' ("Black Petes") or "Père Fouettard" in the French-speaking part of Belgium.
The myth is, if a child had been naughty, the Zwarte Pieten put all the naughty children in sacks, and Sinterklaas took them to Spain (it is believed that Sinterklaas comes from Spain, where he returns after December 5). Therefore, many Sinterklaas songs still allude to a watching Zwarte Piet (Black Peter) and a judging Sinterklaas.
Regardless of whether you've been naughty or nice over the past year, gifts will be awarded to all guests at Lavender & Thyme during Saint Nicholas weekend. Innkeeper Peter will share the Saint Nicholas story in detail with guests, and Jan will need your assistance baking and decorating gingerbread for the event. The Lavender & Thyme Christmas tree will be up, and ready to be festooned with decorations by guests!
Thanksgiving
Invite your extended family for a stay over Thanksgiving weekend, and you can enjoy the entire B&B for a cozy family celebration November 25, 26, and 27. Ask Peter and Jan about a custom Thanksgiving meal, prepared and served on site in the beautifully appointed dining room. On Friday, November 26, the historic Hotel Colorado does its annual lighting celebration, an event not to be missed!
Other events and news in and around Glenwood Springs:
Digging Pre-history in Snowmass
Did you hear?
Just up the road in Snowmass Village, 40 miles from the Lavender & Thyme Bed & Breakfast, crews have unearthed not one, or two...but five
Woolly Mammoths or Mastodons!
Paleontologists are just getting up to speed with this amazing discovery.
Hundreds of people have had the opportunity to view the
bones, teeth and tusks at the Snowmass Village Water and Sanitation building recently.
The bones are there temporarily until paleontologists take them to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science for more research, but the chances are good that during your visit, you can make the short trip to Snowmass to see the bones and the site of their discovery yourself!
Glenwood ski season begins!
Call or go online to book:
We hope to see you in November and December at Lavender & Thyme Bed & Breakfast. Our weekend rates are $130/night with a two night minimum. Stay a third night for just $65/night-- half off! Call and ask us about our midweek specials.
Lavender and Thyme Bed and Breakfast
802 Palmer Avenue, Glenwood Springs, CO 81601
Telephone: (970) 945-8289
Call TOLL-FREE: 1-866-L and T BB
(1-866-526-3822)
Fax: (970) 947-0379
Innkeeper
Lavender and Thyme Bed and Breakfast
