Venice Anyone?
Everyone but the Pope is at Venice Beach and they all have something to sell. We didn’t make it to any of the museums or galleries while in Southern California, so we were happy to see the street art and theater in Venice. We even caught a freak show full of live and stuffed two- headed animals where a guy stuck a meat hook through his nose and pushed it out through his mouth. Joe wanted me to post the picture I took of it but I find it too disturbing.
Coming from a community of art and craft venders in Virginia, we felt at home at Venice Beach, where Grateful Dead meets Ocean City, as Joe puts it. It’s a place where old hippies, artist and musicians, locals and tourists and the homeless all mingle.
Named after the Italian city, I assume, because of its canals two blocks from the beach, Venice Beach has a past reputation for gang violence, we learned from the stand-up comic who performed at the hostel the night before. We knew we weren’t in Kansas anymore.
Before this trip I had only seen Venice in the movies, film images of bikini-clad girls rollerblading on the boardwalk and jocks lifting weights on the sand at Muscle Beach. After walking the beach from Santa Monica Pier, we rented bikes to explore and swung by the graffiti artists spray painting seawalls, one of my favorite Venice Beach sights.
Vending offerings, spread out on blankets and tables, were mostly one-of-a-kind and many incorporated recycling. There were paintings on broken surfboards, paintings made using an old record turn table, bowls made of melted LP record and airplanes made of beer cans with propellers spinning in the ocean breeze. “He drinks the beer before he makes them,” the vendor’s neighbor wanted us to know.
A quick bus ride back to our hostel in Santa Monica gave us more sightseeing opportunities. Our time in Venice was another vacation highlight that went by too fast.
Watch for the Jimi Hendricks of Venice Beach HERE. See the graffiti artists HERE.
February 17th, 2012 12:34 pm
GREAT Pictures, Colleen…..It’s been a while since I’ve been in Venice…..Years, in fact. Again, it is great to see it through your eyes…! LOVE that last photo of the sand with that tire track and the people…..BTW: Your second link to the video is the same as the first–and both are of–The Canals
February 17th, 2012 3:28 pm
It was a drum circle and the trail was made from dragging a drum out by the shore.
I fixed the link. Thanks, Naomi!
February 17th, 2012 4:29 pm
What fun!! Love the idea of this being the place where the Grateful Dead meets the Ocean. Terrific!
February 17th, 2012 4:47 pm
love the pics! venice beach is such fabulous entertainment for people watchers! 😉 colleen, i would like to know about the hostel – have never seen or stayed in one. can couples share a room or is it a dorm-like setting with separate quarters for men/women? any pvt baths?
February 17th, 2012 7:31 pm
You certainly know how to explore a place to its fullest. Exotic…just like the real Venice.
February 17th, 2012 11:09 pm
I want to paint on the graffiti wall!!!
February 18th, 2012 12:51 pm
The hostel we stayed at was one of the Hostel Internationals, not a youth hostel so accommodated all ages and people from all over the world. http://www.hihostels.com/dba/hostels-HI—Los-Angeles—-Santa-Monica-060006.en.htm
We had a private room and a shared bath. I don’t know if they have rooms with bathrooms in them. It was not THAT much cheaper than a motel with a private room but somewhat less. They served breakfast but we made eggs and we had fridge space and common rooms to hand out in. It was in a great central location although parking could be an issue. We only had a car for 2 of the 5 days were there. It was a walk to Venice Beach and the hostel offers some free tours of the area.
February 19th, 2012 2:48 pm
These are so exuberant and youthgful. I especially like the graffiti!
February 19th, 2012 3:29 pm
I thought of you, Sandy, when I took those shots.
February 20th, 2012 2:43 pm
I love the graffiti shot, you really captured the mood and feel of the place so well.
February 22nd, 2012 8:52 pm
Hadn’t heard of Venice Beach but it looks like you had a grand time there.