On the Boardwalk

Wow. I've been bad and not written since June! I always thought I was good at keeping a journal. Oh well, i just got really into taking photos and enjoying my life here and I remembered about this blog and how blogs are cool and well I should get back into it.

Venice is truly a unique place. I've now been here the whole summer really and it's just become home for me. Whether it's cloudy or not...as it seems to have been each morning for a while now! I had never thought about Southern California being overcast. It alwayst appears in my head as a perfect world of blue skies and palm trees and shiny people and white teeth and all those cliches. Venice is really quite grungy, it's a crazy cocktail of Hippies and artists, musicians and street sellers with the Doors and the Chilli Peppers blasting out from all sides. It can conjure both the best and the worst of people. IT has all the ingredients to create a perfect free moment in my life. E.G cycling down the bike path at night, with no lights (maybe a little dangerous but hey,..) and the sun slipping into the Pacific beside meI feel like I am reaching the end of the world. But in a good way. In a totally free and incredibly detached spiritual way. Huh maybe I'm passively smoking too much wacky baccy....LOL

I can travel all over LOs Angeles and be proud to call Venice Beach and The VEnice Breeze Suites, my home (from home) for now...beforeI'llbe moving on..but somethign tells me thatw on't be anytime soon or even if it is...I'll be bacl....

Still here at Venice Breeze Apartments on Breeze Avenue right on the beach! But not feeling much of a breeze as I mainly hang out on the roof deck and it's really sheltered up there.
Anyway last Friday night was the street festival on Abbot Kinney, a really cool street just a couple of minutes walk from here. The place was packed, bars and stores were open late and people were playing live music, hula hooping and all sorts til late! We went to a bar called The Brig which was cool but pretty jam packed and sweaty. Lots of people obviously go out, we were told that it happens the first Friday of every month. It's great though, you really get the vibe of the community here which I love. I also love being able to walk to bars and restaurants and not have to drive everywhere. It means you can drink with no worries and also it's cheaper and better for the environment right!

I love it here! I'm a total Venice local already... our apartment felt like home as soon as we stepped inside (well the kind of home I'd like to have in an ideal world where I am rich and famous!) but really it's great value and so much fun.

I was worried that it'd be noisy right on the boardwalk, especially with all the drumming and street vendors etc but actually the windows seem to be double paned so in fact it's cool you can people watch and not be bothered from the comfort of your own little space. It really feels like a haven in the middle of a busy and exciting place.

There's so much going on here too, I'm excited about an art show this Saturday also on Abbot Kinney. This place is very creative and full of artists and writers. I think there may even be some famous people staying here...I don't want to be dumb and ask them who they are though...!!

First day in Venice Beach - I'm traveling with my boyfriend (he is the surfer not me) and basically trying to do as much sunbathing as possible while he takes to the waves.

I had the best sandwich for lunch from Zelda's cafe on the Venice Boardwalk - and she threw in a bag of free donuts because I had to wait a little bit...I like this place already! Doug went surfing (even though there weren't any waves!) and I sat down on the beach but it was a little windy so I went back to the apartment and discovered we have a roof terrace on the top of the building, YAY! This place just gets better and better. We're staying at the Venice Breeze Suites located right smack bang on the boardwalk (www.venicebreezesuites.com). So I got my book, my sunscreen, my towel and headed up to the top deck. It's great because they have a wind shield thing around the edge so it's totally sheltered plus everyone kind of congregates up there throughout the day and you get to meet everyone else who's staying here.

You can also lazily just spy over the top down onto the boardwalk, watch the guys set up for the Venice Drum Circle ( every weekend they gather crowds playing drums, dancing, yelping like some kind of tribal thing it's really a sight to see!) and you can also see sweeping views of West LA to Beverly Hills and beyond, even the Hollywood sign on a clear day!

I am so happy here, Doug can surf to his hearts content. I was asking around for a good restaurant for dinner tonight but turns out everyone's chipping in for a BBQ up here on the roof so I thought that would be a great way to meet more people and save money! Plus we've got our own kitchen in the apartment anyway, but this is far more social or should I say socal - ha ha ha....