Last week the folks at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport announced that a 24-hour pet boarding facility will open on airport property in October.  The “pet palace” will have an outdoor play and exercise areas, indoor play areas, and a spa and grooming area with a pet therapy pool and massage services.

Now travelers passing through MSP can also look forward to some pampering.   On Monday the airport announced that XpresSpa will open a wellness center inside the airport next fall.  The 5,000 square-foot center will offer spa and beauty services (hair cuts, manicures, pedicures, massages, facials, etc.) a full-service pharmacy, and a walk-in health clinic.

Categories: Massages, Pets, Salons, Spas
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San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is, so far, the only U.S. airport with an accredited museum. There are twenty galleries scattered throughout the terminals displaying always cool, ever-changing exhibitions of art, history, science.

So you may find yourself wishing for a longer layover or a flight delay here.

I usually do.

Right now, for example, pre-security in the International Terminal, there’s a new exhibit of more than fifty pieces of the nineteenth-century English and French glazed ceramic known as “majolica.”

This wine cistern celebrating Bacchus is my favorite:

Bacchus vase 1851–1897/ Courtesy of Nicolaus Boston

Not in the mood for majolica? Elsewhere in the airport, there are exhibit cases filled with flight attendant uniform caps, aviation toys, minerals and gemstones, and other fun stuff.

And there’s no admission charge.

To help you plan your SFO layover, here’s a link to the San Francisco Airport Art Museum’s list of what’s where – and when.

Categories: Art, Museums
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I’m tickled to be doing a guest stint this week and next writing the Airport Check-In column over at USA TODAY.

This week’s topics include the re-freshed exhibits at the American Airlines C.R. Smith Museum near Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and, for those celebrating “Won’t You Be My Neighbor Days” a reminder that there’s a Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood exhibit at Pittsburgh International Airport.

Photo: Family Communications

Categories: Events, History, USA Today
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If you find yourself flying into or out of New York’s Albany International Airport anytime soon, leave time to explore the airport’s top notch art and history exhibits and do some shopping at Departure, the airport shop filled with items from more than 60 regional museums and cultural institutions.

While you’re there, consider a side-trip to Stockbridge, Ma., about an hour away. Verizon just donated the painting titled “The Lineman” (appraised value $2 million) to the town’s popular Norman Rockwell Museum.

According the museum, “The Lineman” was used as an ad for AT&T in Life magazine and more than 100,000 poster-sized color reprints were sent out to the public and to telephone company employees.

(Press release photo: ©1948 Norman Rockwell Licensing Company)

And just for fun, check out this unusual lineman. He’s on-duty 24/7 outside city hall in Milton-Freewater, Oregon. Appraised value? Priceless….

Photo courtesy city of Milton-Freewater

Categories: Art, History
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I doubt it. But we do know that she popped over to Heathrow Airport at least twice.

Back in 1955, Queen Elizabeth II was on hand to open Heathrow Airport’s first terminal building – which is now Terminal 2.

She was back on site again today for the opening of Terminal 5.

According to the BBC, the Queen spoke of the ‘bright, airy space and clean, efficient layout,” as she declared the terminal ready for business.

I’m hard at work figuring out how to swing my own visit to the shiny new structure, but in the meantime here are some fun facts about Heathrow’s new baby:

· It took 60,000 people to build the new terminal.

· The UK’s biggest single-site dig unearthed 80,000 items, including pots, cups, buckets, flints and a 3,000 BC hand axe.

· During construction, two rivers were diverted. Fish and other water creatures were moved and new channels were made habitable for wildlife.

Want even more fun facts? Check out Heathrow Airport’s official Terminal 5 Web site, which includes a virtual walk-through, some cool photos, a time-lapse video, and lists of all the shops, restaurants and services.

Photo from BAA website

Categories: Events, History
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