Venice, CA

I have not yet investigated whether the canals came before the name or if the canals were built because of the name, but west of Los Angeles and south of Santa Monica is the town of Venice. And in Venice two or three blocks east of the beach are five parallel canals and two connecting cross canals.

The canals are a haven of tranquility. Each canal has a pedestrian path alongside, there is no commercial development, no restaurants, stores or souvenir shops and no traffic. Houses in many architectural styles line the paths and the canals, most with small yards just big enough for a patio table and chairs and a barbecue grill. Vehicular access to the houses is provided by single lane roads serving two rows of houses on the west bank of one canal and the east bank of a second canal.

This is a quiet place to walk – there are few places to sit – talk with your companion and enjoy the peace and quiet, the ducks and the beautiful urban surroundings. This is how city life should be lived.

So we walked and talked and laughed and took pictures and admired the houses and watched the ducks and gently wound down from the traumatic events at work. It was delightful.

After walking the canals, we walked the three blocks to the beach and enjoyed the bracing air blowing in from the Pacific Ocean.