The Hotel

I really and truly am almost done yapping about our trip to California. I was actually going to make this my last post, but I just noticed a few more pictures from our last day that might need their own place in this little web world. I promise that the next CA post will be the very last, and you will then be able to get back to reading the regular, everyday drivel about our lives.

So our hotel in LA was called The Mondrian, which took me all weekend to remember how to pronounce correctly, although I'm not sure why it was so hard for me to figure out. We stayed at this particular hotel because it was in Eric's neighborhood (within walking distance) and as usual, I got a great deal on it on Priceline. As most people know, when you "name your own price" on Priceline you don't see the hotel first--you only choose the location and how many stars you want--so I didn't really know until after I "won" this 4-star hotel that it wasn't really our kind of place overall. It was super swanky and ultra modern, but the room itself was not very functional at all, and the decor was just downright weird. The coffee table had a hand (yes, a hand) sculpture sitting on a glass tray, which hopefully gives you an idea of what I'm talking about. The only super cool thing in our room was this gigantic mirror separating the sleeping area from the rest of the room. At first we though it was just a weird unnecessary mirror--then we realized it was actually a second TV, which could watch a different channel than the first TV. As you can imagine, Chad was in heaven laying on a comfy bed where he could watch two different sporting events at the same time. The only other cool thing about our room was the view, which looked out over the "outdoor living room" and pool, which I'll talk about a little more in a second.

Before I show you the pool area, let me just explain a little more why this wasn't our kind of hotel. Really, it was kind of about us not really fitting in there, not that we really fit in (nor want to fit in) most places in LA. Let's just say that this place was especially posh, and every time we were coming and going there were women in tiny mini-skirts and ridiculous high heels prancing in and out of the club/lounge/restaurant with their dates/husbands/clients. Oh yes, there were hookers, and yes I'm sure. These two 55-year-old guys were coming in with these two girls dressed quite skankily that couldn't have been more than 20. It was really quite disturbing and quite sad, and it really made it quite clear that this wasn't the kind of nightlife we were interested in!

For the most part we really didn't care because we weren't there to spend time hanging out at the hotel anyway. However, there was one part of the hotel I wish hadn't been overrun with people way too hip for the room, because I definitely would have spent way more time there. We could see the pool area from our room and it was always packed over the weekend, but on Monday morning when we went to check out we walked down and lounged around in the "outdoor living room" a bit, and it was absolutely gorgeous. I can see why people stay there even if they're not into that night life--this pool was so fabulous and the whole outdoor area couldn't have been more relaxing! I took quite a few more pictures which you should check out here. It was an amazingly beautiful place!