Discover volcanic luxe in Iceland and art-deco cars in Nashville
On the radar: Openings and events around the wold
Thingvellir, Iceland: Set amid the volcanic landscape of Mount Hengill, less than an hour drive from Reykjavik, ION is geared to adventurous travellers who prefer natural wonders to nightlife. Guests of the ultra-modern hotel can go fly fishing, diving and white-water rafting, tour the Gullfoss waterfall, geysers and glaciers, and explore Thingvellir National Park with a hiking guide or on horseback. Soothe aching muscles with a soak in the geothermal hot tub (a great place to view the Northern Lights over Lake Thingvellir), or with a massage at the spa. www.ioniceland.is
New York: The New York Standard Hotel’s new outdoor pizzeria menu was crafted by executive chef Dan Silverman and Frank Pinello, who owns Best Pizza in nearby Williamsburg. The selection of wood-burned pizzas includes a basic Margherita, Salsiccia (cured fennel sausage, red onions, black olives), and a vegetarian version that’s topped with ingredients sourced from the organic fields of hotelier André Balazs’ Hudson River estate. Start the meal with savoury antipasti and end with house-made gelato. The restaurant is seasonal, so visit before it closes at the end of summer.Jeff Goldberg
Nashville: From June 14 to Sept. 15, car buffs can peruse a rare collection of art deco-era autos at the Frist Center for the Visual Arts. Sensuous Steel is the first major museum exhibit devoted to cars made in the 1930s and 1940s, and features such classics as a one-of-a-kind 1934 Edsel Ford Model 40 Speedster and the roomy 1935 Stout Scarab, an early precursor to the minivan. Take a peek inside the 1937 Delahaye 135 MS Roadster, above, designed for the Paris Auto Show and has a Hermès leather interior. www.fristcenter.org
Chicago: Shop for everything from beauty products to fine art at Judy Maxwell Home, the Gold Coast’s most elegantly stocked general store. Named after Barbra Streisand’s character in What’s Up, Doc?, it carries a quirky inventory of Mason Pearson hairbrushes, ceramic figurines from Japan, lavender goat’s milk soap, vintage lingerie and raw honey. Paintings, carvings and light fixtures made by local artists are also for sale. Linger over a cup of tea (brewed in a samovar) and you may even bump into the store’s famous owner, actress and native Chicagoan Joan Cusack. www.judymaxwellhome.com