The Canals of Venice

Nope, not THAT Venice.

There is another Venice which you might not be familiar with if you've never been to California.

Venice, Los Angeles is a funky beach community which has a great boardwalk where you can buy art or incense or jewelry from homeless-looking "artists".  It is one of my favorite places in LA to hang out if I have a lazy afternoon to spare.

But there is a reason, of course, why Venice is called Venice.  Back in 1905, a developer named Abbot Kinney wanted to recreate the look and feel of Venice, Italy so he designed a community with bridges and canals.  After a couple of decades, the area fell apart and it wasn't until the early 90s that the subdivision was renovated and restored.

Now it is a very desirable and upscale neighborhood and from the pictures below, I think you'll see why.

The houses are all very unique and they are well maintained.

And where else in Los Angeles can you step outside your front door and go for a canoe ride?

It's a cool area to check out if you're in the neighborhood.  The real Venice, it isn't.  But c'mon, nothing is real in LA anyway.