Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/456199
WHAT ARE YOU DOING THIS WEEKEND? Following Our Bliss We cap off our girlfriends' trip with the girliest of indulgences: a spa day. Chuan Spa, in the palatial, circa 1865 Langham London hotel, just north of shopping mecca Oxford St., is a cross between a Chinese medicine centre and a traditional Western spa. Reclining on chaise lounges, we sip green tea and nibble on fresh berries as we fill out questionnaires to deter- mine which "elemental oil" will be used during our hour-long Harmony massages. Whether it's the incense or the muscle-melting proper- ties of those herb-infused warm oils, after the rubdown, Kathleen and I feel as if we've been healed of ailments we didn't know we had. And while I'm not usually one to linger after a spa treatment, Chuan's health club is too good to pass up. We spend the next two hours alternat- ing between a Himalayan rock-salt sauna, a lavender-bordered plunge pool and a 16-metre swimming pool with icicle-like crystal chande- liers dangling overhead. Extravagant? Abso- lutely. But blissed-out bonding experiences, like perfect travel companions, are few and far between. GP (clockwise from left) A jogger takes in Kensington Gardens at a healthy pace; a stoic guard keeps his composure at Buckingham Palace Stable Yard; a Borough Market shop offers tasty tarts.