Seriously, can life get any better? She takes us on a visual journey of her adventure with husband Dave and their 2 year old daughter Ava and let’s us in on where she went, who she saw (I’ll give you a hint: he was once famous for pumping iron in Venice Beach) and what she did.
A word of warning though, if this ignites your wanderlust fire, we can’t be blamed for the chaos that follows – but we will be the first to put our hands up to join you!
But don’t take my word for it, let’s hear what Al had to say – over to you Al!
My adventure to Venice started, would you believe, after a conversation with my hairdresser (she’s totally awesome by the way). We had a few days to spend in LA before we flew to Sun Valley, Idaho for 10 days to carve it up on the slopes – is that even what they say?! It was the easy peasy green runs for me!
LA being the ginormous cosmopolitan hub it is, I was looking for recommendations and I’d come across Venice so was hoping to find a second opinion. She told me we have to stay there so, given I trust her implicitly with my hair, I locked down our accommodation stat and we weren’t disappointed.
Abbot Kinney Boulevard (image: www.cmcforum.com)
Venice is probably one of the coolest areas in LA, and I’ve been to a few. There’s something very familiar about it, in particular Abbot Kinney Boulevard and it’s probably because it’s like stepping into a slice of Melbourne. Great shopping, eateries and people watching; all with a beach vibe to rival St Kilda.
Gjelina Restaurant (image: www.carry-on-traveler.com)
Salt and Straw Ice Creamery (image: www.la.racked.com)
Gjusta Bakery (image: www.gjusta.com)
Cuyana (image: www.abbotkinneyblvd.com)
Heist (image: www.shopheist.com)
Stone Cold Fox (image: www.thestonecoldfox.com)
And if Abbot Kinney isn’t enough, in 1905 a rich tobacco millionaire with maybe a little too much time on his hands decided to re-create the canals of Venice, Italy in LA. The result is pretty spectacular and a little mind boggling. On a nice day, and let’s face it, LA has more of those than anything else, you can take a stroll along the canals (there’s four in total), crossing bridges and sneaking a peek into the backyards of those lucky enough to live there.
Venice Canal (image: authors own)
Daddy and Daughter (image: authors own)
We learnt that the canals certainly have some interesting residents…backyard turtles, chickens, windmills and of course inflatable ducks to laze the day away in. If you need to find me, I’ll be dreaming of laying in the sun on my duck, forgetting the world.
With love,
xx
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