Day 0: E-Ville to LA

Day 0: E-Ville to LA

Weather: Cool in E-Ville, hot in LA

QOTD: How hot was it?

 

It felt hotter than 86

THB and DB are in LA for an Art Jewelry Forum mini-tour. We decided to drive down, an easy 5.5 hours with a few short rest stops. As always, the last 5 miles takes 25 minutes, even around noon. We are listening to American Heiress by Jeffery Toobin and, since the bulk of the book takes place in the Bay Area, it resonates right from the start with our Berkeley days (and a shout-out to SG, mentioned in the first 15 minutes and lucky to be with us all these years later).

The only non-Hispanic biz for many blocks

Leaving early got us to Langer’s at lunch time for pastrami sandwiches on rye (one with swiss), cole slaw, ice tea and a late-lamented Arnold Palmer, $55 (it’s amazing what a pastrami sandwich goes for nowadays). The pastrami here is more like Montreal smoked meat: softer, a bit less salty, great with mustard on good rye.

It’s a short drive down Wilshire to our hotel, the aptly named Hotel Wilshire. Our room isn’t ready so we hang out in the lounge, which is basically a room on the 2^nd floor open to the atrium above the check-in desk, so we hear the chatter from downstairs.

The room is lovely, large with a shower inside the glass wall and open to the bath tub. Unique design:

An oddity: separate shower and bath behind glass

More resting up, and then a two block stroll (did THB say it was hot?) down to the LA County Museum of Art to sit inside a James Turrell light piece. 

The technician sez: no shoes

How long before I get my test results?

One at a time, except our shoes overlap 

DB finds it repetitive and a bit claustrophobic, THB finds it doesn’t seem as long as the 11 minutes you’re in the sphere and is a macular degeneration eye test: floaters everywhere (apparently true for just about everyone) and somewhat similar at times to the light pictures they take at the retina doc’s office (bright and blinding).

 

There is a print show up near the Turrell pieces

THB liked these woodcuts by Lichtenstein

Back to The Wilshire, rest up some more, type some of the blog entry on the net book that is now going three times faster than the speed of light (and thus the cursor is moving in fast and mysterious ways – could it have anything to do with THB being in the middle of watching Stranger Things?)

Very understated, usually nice art on the walls

An excellent dinner at Mori Sushi, THB and DB’s all-time fave sushi restaurant. Lots of v. good sake, a great set of appetizers, lots of terrific sushi, lots of appreciation, lots of $$, $595. You know there’s time to chat when you find out that your sushi chef was three when his parents got divorced and he went with dad, who ended up having 4 or 5 more kids with a second wife. 

He gave it good, ethical, go at the nomination. How refreshing!