First of all, I'd just like to start off with I'M STILL HERE! I still exist! The holidays hit, and the the next school quarter started, and I guess I just pushed this off to the side... but not anymore! I'm back! And I hope to share with you guys some great adventures! Now, that we've established that, let's show you guys some of my adventures from the time I've "been away."
What do you think of when you hear "Venice Beach"? Do you think of skaters? Surfers? Crowds? Street Performers? Weed? Well, all of those could perfectly describe Venice Beach. But it's so much more than that. I feel as though Venice truly captures a lifestyle. This place honestly means so much to some people, and you can see that. And in all honesty, despite the strong stench of weed, despite the graffiti, and the ..interesting people you meet, it is truly a beautiful place.
I took this trip with my two best friends, Ana and Jenevie (pictured above). It was sort of our way to ring in the New Year, seeing as we visited on January 2, 2014. So, we didn't exactly know how to get to Venice Beach that morning when we left our house. We knew how to get to Santa Monica [post on Santa Monica Beach and Third St Promenade coming soon] and knew that Venice was in the same general direction. So we just followed our GPS systems on our phone, and finally when we exited the Santa Monica freeway and saw signs of the beach, we thought we made it. Well, it turns out we sort of made it.. but we were much closer to the Santa Monica Pier than we were to Venice. We had already payed for parking, and we we're chilling in the parking lot debating if we should just walk, or if we should leave the parking lot and continue driving.
In the end, (naturally) we reasoned that the walk would be too long and that we should drive. We drove a couple minutes down a street right near the coast and then immediately we knew "Now we're in Venice" It went from a calm relaxing looking neighborhood to pops of color instantly. We parked in he first public parking lot we found (after having to do a U-Turn because we missed the entrance) and walked down to the beach, and then walked the boardwalk.
The area really is beautiful and there was honestly so much to take in and see. between all the stores and people and vendors selling their homemade products. I was in awe looking at everything. It seemed as though it could go on forever. One of my absolute favorite things I saw was a little bookshop to the side of a restaurant. I would have missed it if the "Bookstore Entrance Only" didn't happen to catch my attention! I just have a huge fascination with small privately owned bookstores so I get really excited when I find them.
My second favorite part, was the street performers! Street performers is another one of those things that I love seeing no matter where I go, but when they're dancing? Then I love it even more! These guys, (although I didn't catch their name) were very entertaining and did a good job at keeping the crowd hooked and laughing. Here's l video clip featuring a bit of their show and what they were about.
All in all, this became one of my absolute favorite places and I can't wait to go back and visit again. Hopefully during spring break? Have you guys been there? What's your favorite part about Venice? Let me know in the comments!
Enjoy Your Day!
❤ A
