A (very small, very hot) room of one's own

Yesterday:
Pilates, at last, with Mari Winsor. It was a great 45 minutes. I didn't let on that I'd tried some of the exercises at home, because it made all the difference in the world that she was there correcting my form all the time. She is very encouraging and friendly and pleasant. After some initial stretching, which was like great physical therapy, I did a bunch of exercises on The Reformer and The Cadillac, and it was hard work but very satisfying.

And it was just plain cool to do.
After lunch (a yummy and filling Tex-Mex wrap; forgot to take a picture), I went for a walk. In accordance with the cliche about Los Angeles, there was pretty much nobody else walking anywhere.

Evidence

I don’t understand why L.A. is like this—there are perfectly adequate sidewalks, the weather is great, and there are lovely flowering trees everywhere… what up, L.A.?

When I got to Robertson, where there are restaurants and shops, the pedestrian activity picked up a little bit. As I passed The Ivy, I saw all the outdoor diners staring across the street and holding up their iPhones to take pictures. I looked across the street, and this is what I saw:

These six fine gentlemen were in a frenzy, photographing Rachel Zoe (I had to ask, sorry to say I can’t identify Rachel Zoe at 100 feet), her nanny, and her baby. Eh.

My afternoon workout appointment got cancelled, so I used the equipment in the open-air fitness center at the hotel and then I thought I’d try out the spa.

Ladies' locker room

Nobody else was around, so I had the whole place to myself. I may use the actual spa services in the next few days, but today I just decided to spend a few minutes in the steam room, and then I switched to the sauna.

I lay on the bench there, and it was quiet and closed off from “the world,” and I found myself talking to my mother, telling her where I was and what I was doing. Because, wise readers, it’s no big revelation to any of us that the reason I had the urge to write a blog now, all of a sudden, is that I no longer have her as my infinitely receptive audience whenever I want to say, “Hey, look what I did!” So, I had a Moment there in the sauna. And that’s part of why I made this trip, too–– so good for me.