The Country Mice

A few moments ago I opened the door to this…

There are hotels and then there is

The Shangri-La.

“… he felt an extraordinary sense of physical and mental settlement. It was perfectly true; he just rather liked being at Shangri-La.”

Ah, the Shangri-La.

Dimmed lights, neutral colours, serenity and calm, the perfect mid-afternoon respite after a desperately busy few hours waltzing down Fourth Avenue, browsing bookstores, cafes and the odd funky clothing shop.

But wait! Another lovely glass and wood door catches my curious eye.

Oh, now isn’t that nice!

A marble floor, marble walls, an Asian-inspired two-sink vanity, soaps, creams, gels, toothbrushes — even a hair elastic IF I were so inclined to go for a run in the morning.

I’m not.

First of all — the best excuse EVER!!! — I must (simply MUST!) “take it easy” after the eye surgery. Oh, were it always so easy to slip out of one’s exercise commitments.

Second, I have a couple of stitches on my abdomen from a surgical sampling of the skin excised there for a mysterious rash that showed up last week. “Take it easy,” said the doc. Whoooopeeee! Another excuse to forego the morning gym routine.

And third, I have an early flight tomorrow. That particular excuse sounds fairly lame following the previous two, doesn’t it?

Now back to the bathroom.

A marble tub. This tub invites, beckons, coos and calls. This tub purrs.

This tub overlooks the extremely busy Georgia Street. Car, trucks, buses and bicyclists pass by in multiples of nineteen at every moment.

But the kind folks at the Shangri-La have thought of everything.

What a thoughtful gesture. I plan to be entirely too mellowed out whilst soaking to think of anything beyond getting to the next step.

And here’s what the next step looks like.

How many more hours until I can go to sleep?