Iceland's Blue Lagoon
		Frank Sinatra and Cary Grant's transcontinental stopover Arena 97, April 2000 Flying – no matter how swathed you might be in massages, facials and courtesy packs full of Apple & Bradford – is not glamorous. Private jets are no better because you’ll still come off feeling pasty. Seven hours in the air is seven hours of stale air. But we offer you a solution – at least if your route is NY to London. The only way to make the journey bearable is to do what Cary Grant, Frank Sinatra and Richard and Liz did when they went transcontinental – stop off in Iceland. In those days, flights across the Atlantic had to refuel en route. Now fuel tanks are bigger, but Iceland has another lure for the weary traveller and it beats aromatherapy facial sprays hands down. Welcome to the Blue Lagoon. The ‘lagoon’ sits in the middle of barren black lava fields. The spa itself is a geothermal lake, 15 minutes from Keflavik airport, where you can soak your tired muscles, sip a vodka cocktail and let the mineral-rich water do a litany of great things. The terrain, once used to train NASA astronauts for lunar landings, is now flanked by cool Scandinavian architecture. Opened in 1999 and designed by Reykjavik-based Vinnustofa Arkitekta, the Blue Lagoon complex is like a geothermal cathedral. Built over two storeys from wood, stone and glass, most of the interior is a sweeping glass atrium from which you can look out on the steaming blue waters. As well as changing rooms for 900 people, there’s a bar, a shop, conference facilities and a restaurant where you can tuck into local seafood. Outdoors it may be -7°C, but underfloor heating will keep you warm as your hands fold around a cup of (strangely for Iceland) pretty good coffee. But it’s not all about architecture. The real action is outside and, once you’ve changed (don’t worry if your Versace trunks are in your luggage – you can hire anything you need), you step into a second atrium and into a shallow warm pool where you can loll, sip a drink and watch the snow blowing against the windows. The next thrill is to swim through a small gap in the glass and into the spa proper where the water is hot and the snowflakes fall. About 100 metres square, the spa is criss-crossed with paths and bridges linking small lava islands. If you’re Scandinavian or foolhardy, you can roll around in the snow and risk mineral-rich cardiac arrest. But the more chilled-out way to enjoy the place is to stretch out on one of the lava benches carved just under the surface and let the waters wash away the Manhattan grime. Leave yourself an hour or so to eat scallops and lobster before getting a cab to Keflavik, before the final leg to Heathrow. If you miss your flight, you can stay in the art deco cosiness of the Hotel Borg or, if you wait long enough, you may make the opening of the Blue Lagoon’s own 100-room hotel, due to open in 2004 and sure to add an essential overnight to any transatlantic trip. Blue Lagoon, Grindavik, Iceland, 00 354 420 8800 or go to www.bluelagoon.is