Cathedrals of the Flesh (30 page)

305.673.1717.
www.standardhotel.com
.

Health meets hedonism at the Standard Spa, where innovative hotelier Andre Balazs has applied his quirky, stylish take to
the bath and spa experience. The whimsical baths on Biscayne Bay are full of surprises, as are the similarly inventive spa
treatments.

Colorado

Izba Spa.
1441 York Street, Denver, Colorado 80206. Tel: 303.321.1239.

17908 B Cottonwood Drive, Parker, Colorado 80134. Tel:

303.400.1001.
www.izbaspa.com
.

Both Izba Spa locations serve up the intense heat of a Russian banya as well as accompanying spa services and food. Although
the owners pair the bath component with spa treatments, in many ways the experience is faithful to a true Russian banya.

The Lake Street Baths.
3540 W. Colfax Avenue, Denver, CO 80204. Tel:

303.825.2995.
www.lakesteambaths.com
.

Opened in 1927 by the Hyman family, the Lake Street Baths have been family operated ever since. With alternating single-gender
days, this bathhouse has the friendly atmosphere and easy camaraderie of the best bathhouses. It offers a dry steam room,
hot rock sauna (with ice water buckets), and Jacuzzi.

Illinois

Division Street Russian Bath.
1916 West Division Street (between Damen and Ashland Ave.), Chicago. Tel: 773.384.9643 (men's side), . 773.394.0500 (women's
side).

Opened in 1906 and immortalized in Saul Bellow's
Humboldt's Gift.
Famous for its icy cold plunge and Augie the platza-master.

New Mexico

Ten Thousand Waves.
3451 Hyde Park Road, Santa Fe, NM 87501. Tel:

505.992.5025.
www.tenthousandwaves.com
.

A sign on the property reads 'TOKYO 10,070 KM.' Think Japanese hot spring resort meets Southwestern adobe and you've got Ten
Thousand Waves, 'the closest thing to an onsen outside of Japan.' With a choice of communal tubs and private tubs on the serene
grounds, as well a variety of Eastern massage techniques, Santa Fe locals and further-flung furo-holics flock here. Limited
lodging is available.

acknowledgments

This book would not have happened without the inspiration and encouragement of Karina Duebner. I thank her for teaching me
how to dream, and I can't imagine a better friend or partner in crime. Books always take longer to come together than anyone
would imagine, and my family was there with kind words, great advice, and delicious meals every step of the way. To Nord,
Suzanne, Erik, and Marget, my deepest thanks.

Friends to whom I owe a huge debt of gratitude for their encouraging words and insightful comments include Jennifer Humphries,
Liz Weiner, Natalia Williams, Bird Goldstein, Julia Cumes, Brett Fadem, Paola Fantini, Nicole LaPorte, Ayesha Pande, Tom Cheung,
Brian Donovan, Zeynep Guven, Josh Levine, Joseph Bowman, and bath studies goddess Judy Mabro.

I am enormously grateful to both my agent and publisher for believing in this book. Sterling Lord, my agent, helped me to
shape the book and always had the perfect inspiring story for any quandary. The entire team at Bloomsbury made every step
of the publishing process a joy. Special thanks to Karen Rinaldi, whom I admire for so many reasons. From proposal to finished
book, she was a brilliant, insightful, funny, and unfai Hngly energetic editor. And to Panagiotis Gianopoulos, whose Herculean
patience and instructive editing were an enormous gift for thisfirst book. Thanks also to Alan Wherry, Greg Villepique, Lara
Carrigan, Andrea Lynch, Alona Fryman, Sandee Yuen, Sara Mercurio, and, in England, fellow bathophile Rosemary Davidson. And
thanks to Lynda Mclntyre for her lyrical drawings that enhanced the pages of this book.

Finally, thank you to all the anonymous people who opened their homes and hearts to me while I was traveling. I hope to repay
the favor.