Blog: The Buying Trip, Part 1: The Hotel

For the first time in many years, Della accompanied me to the folk art and gift show in Los Angeles this past week. Knowing that she writes in wonderfully descriptive phrases, I told Della that I really hoped we'd see some blogs out of this experience. Here's the first of, we hope, several to come. Thank you, Della, for being so present in the experience and sharing it with all of us. (Jan)

From Della:
"Only from pictures from the website (http://www.figueroahotel.com(link is external)) had I seen this place. Moroccan inspired, with a hint of Mexico in it's tile and landscape, this is the coolest place, ever. 
My room was white and crisp with rubbed painted walls and floor. The 2 closets were teal blue, and the canopy over the bed resembled a spider of iron. The courtyard, lined with blooms and cactus and small inmate tables with candles and ambiance, surround the rectangular glowing pool (lots of adjectives, I know, but I find it difficult to describe how it felt).


It felt like somewhere else. It felt peaceful, like the place you would go to write your second novel or to have a torrid love affair, neither of which I did. The lobby and restaurant are wide open and massive. Echos and large furniture in darken corridors. It is truly awe inspiring. We worked long days, and I was delighted to stay up late and rise again early just to investigate all the many rooms, dimly lit halls, and people who turned up to be a part of such a laid back spectacle.

Many foreign to Los Angeles and the United States, the guests were diverse and subtle about the fact they were staying somewhere so grand. "Guten Morgen," addressed me in the elevator. They had cameras and faces set for site seeing and adventure. There were young rock and rollers, wedding parties, and business men in three piece suits. We were all kindred spirits somehow in this land. (to be continued)