Dear cyclists,

Yesterday I was taken on a tour of a recently opened health spa near the Italian Cycling Center that we have been strongly encouraged to patronize. We have been honored with a special price of €50 for a 50 minute "body relax" massage by one of the two lovely young women who operate this "paradise of wellness". On this tour I was stunned as I entered another world about which I had no inkling before yesterday. As if I were entering a hospital operating room, I was required to put covers on my sandals before I was allowed to enter the sacred premises. Everything inside was either chrome, glass or wood, but mostly wood, including many tree trunks to enhance the effect. There were colored lights for "cromotherapy". I was shown how one could be sprayed with a mist smelling of mint and then have a large quantity of water dumped on him from above. While you await your turn with the masseuse you could relax on a couch reminiscent of one from a Bacchanalian feast in a Hollywood movie about ancient Rome. There were showerheads a foot in diameter rather than the puny water-saving showerheads that we are urged to use at home. There were moat-like obstacles, filled with water, that you were required to wade through or, if you still had your shoes on, to jump over to continue your quest for beauty, pampering, and well-being.

In their words "the tensions of everyday life simply float away with a range of spa therapies and treatments which incorporate a holistic approach to the art of beauty, pampering and well-being, enveloping mind, body and spirit in a relaxing scented paradise".

To list the offerings of this incredible place, there are seven kinds of massage: body relax, hot stone body massage, draining massage, myofascial massage, candle massage, classic massage designed especially for you, and focus massage.

There are four wellness programs: body dream hydrating, body dream draining, nila treatment, and the wings of the hands and feet treatment, in which reflexology restores your body.

And then there is the "cave color therapy" after which, if you have gone in there, your perception will have gained presence and relaxation, and the tea time area where you can enjoy a hot temper detoxifying herbal tea.

Then there are the Finnish sauna, bio sauna, Turkish bath, revitalizing showers, mountain showers, the indoor swimming pool with hydromassage, an outdoor swimming pool just outside the door, and the relaxing area (with the Roman couches) where you can recover from all this well-being.

The only negative notes were that everyone is required to wear a swimsuit, and that there did not seem to be any dancing girls to dance around the Roman couches to help with relaxation. Perhaps they will address these two issues in the near future.

All I can suggest is, leave your inhibitions behind but bring money and your swimsuit.

Best regards,

George