Arrival in Marina del Rey

Friday and Saturday were two cozy days where we didn't have any activities booked. A bit of shopping and food porn at 'The Grove' and in Beverly Hills (Highlight: Adam's Peanut Butter Cheesecake 😊) and a second trip to the cinema (after watching 'Despicable Me 3' at the beginning of the week, we watched 'Girls Trip', highly recommended!) 

Before we continued to our second hotel in Marina del Rey on Sunday, we went to our trusted laundromat, about 3 minutes away from the hotel. My Swiss army knife (I even have two with me 😁) was not only helpful for opening the detergent, but we also used it to retrieve the stuck coins from the washing machine (just in case I go broke, I can try my hand at being a thief 😀). The coin got stuck again and again, until I realized that the Queen was smiling at me - instead of a quarter dollar, we had used a 25 cent coin. Another 'Noooo'-moment. After that, we ordered an Uber, a very nice and talkative driver explained to us how to become an Uber driver in the US and how much you can earn (she has a regular job from Monday to Friday and drives on Sundays to earn some extra money. The hourly wage is 10 dollars, which is slightly above the minimum wage, wow! And she only has 2 weeks of vacation per year, every teacher's nightmare 🙈)
Upon arrival in Marina del Rey, we admired the beautiful room at the 'Hilton Garden Inn' and then walked a whole 4 miles to Santa Monica, passing the charming Venice Canals and the less charming 'Pumpers' at Muscle Beach. In my opinion, Venice Beach is not really recommendable for a beach vacation - too many people and too much noise!

On Monday, we spent a relaxing day at the pool - luckily I found a swimsuit in Beverly Hills! In the evening, I wasn't as tired for the first time and stayed up a bit longer than 9 o'clock 😁😁 I hope I'll be just as fit in Vegas, as we have a lot planned there too 😊