Life in the Laneways - Melbourne, Australia

What the guidebooks tell you, and what at least one Melbournian had told me.....

was that I HAD TO VISIT THE LANEWAYS.

Before you get to Melbourne, you imagine that they are some olde-worldie agglomeration of

retail halls, depots, and store fronts, quaint relics of another era.  In fact, they are more like 

plunking the New York City's Greenwich Village right into the bowels of mid-town.

The laneways are the back alleys of corporate headquarters, major global retail outlets, 

access points for Chinatown dim sum palaces, and service entrances for yuppie residences 

 claimed and re-purposed by regular folks, smaller entrepreneurs of every stripe for

providing eating, music, drinking, artspace choices to urban Ozzies

and visitors from all corners of the world - whatever their entertainment persuasion.

Slick gambling emporia tuck themselves cheek by jowl

alongside Italian coffee bars, Greek kebab joints, 

Thai noodle houses, sushi showcases, Chinese dumpling destinations,

juice bars, German beer halls,

hipster cocktail lounges,

and Mittel-Europa-ish cake shops.

Increasingly, people are drawn to the Laneways for the street art - it's the new thing as per the

New York Times "Frugal Traveller" 10 days ago.  

And you won't be the only person taking photos of the artwork.  

Or the post-Christmas shoppers.  Some of the laneways are traditional purpose-built pedestrian passageways and elegant arcades steeped in history and Empire.  In short, there is something there in Melbourne's "Central Business District"  (the "CBD") for everyone.  If you are the kind of someone who enjoys variety, the buzz of a lively crowd and probably, great coffee.  Because Melbourne has some of the best coffee outside of Italy.  More on that soon.

Evening Streets, San Sebastian

And after your swimming afternoon.....

the Parte Vieja (old town) awaits.

and enfolds you

in a gentle, gilt edged

embrace.

This is the Basque version

of the big easy, to my mind.

There is quiet.  But it is companionable.

Water laps at the Parte Vieja on two sides.

It's solemn power is both soothing and moving.

The patina'ed streets suspend you in an eternal late afternoon reverie.

Between hunger and satiety.

And when you have dined.

The evening persists.  And persists.  There is no hurry for night.

Just an extended moment for sifting through the remains of the day.

The gold turns to silver and pink.  And you realize that you have lost your heart to Donostia.

Like so many before you.  (No wonder the Basques want to keep it for themselves!)

The second weekend in December already.  How can it be?  Hope it's good for you!

Break for Summer - On Abbott Kinney Boulevard, Venice, CA

Once one of those arty backwaters, Abbott Kinney Boulevard is now approaching peak glam

with (tear down) homes in the neighborhood starting at a million dollars, and a boho chic atmosphere

where bicycles, flip flops, bespoke coffees and

pizzas reign......

Where flowers are sold from the backs of camper vans.

And modest little gates lead to secret hideaway retail destinations......

Of course the flip flops are not your dime store variety.  They have to have a little attitude

  and atmosphere and BRANDING - a Brazilian flag doesn't hurt in that regard.

The plantings on Abbott Kinney Boulevard are more elegant and more tidy and more

d-e-s-i-g-n-e-d  than anywhere else in L.A.

And the exotic cement tile rage has taken hold big-time.

Abbott Kinney is only about a half a mile from Venice Beach so it's never not the season for bikinis.  Especially if they're in bleu-blanc-rouge for Francophiles and all those other Frenchies who flock to this seaside neighborhood.  (And open lovely little Francophone schools for preschoolers.)

Some are trying harder than others to evoke the atmosphere of summer holidays.

This location was in transition - shall we put it nicely?

Making a stand commercially, on Abbott Kinney can be very expensive and if you don't get the formula quite right....it might be ruinous.

Making a stand horticulturally

or artistically - not so much!  (That's the good news.)

You will find lots of lanky and handsome shoppers on Abbott Kinney Boulevard.

Abbott Kinney is as much now a destination for tourists-from-abroad as for lucky locals.

 (Thanks to Suzanne at SakuraSnow who reminded me of this artist's name)

It can also be a showcase for artists and makers such as Makoto Kagoshima, a Japanese ceramicist.

 - I also loved how he did the walls with scraps of blackboard paint.

Could you - or I - do this at home?  Yes we could!  I would like that!

You will be tempted by both the luxe and the

laid-back.....

The glistery - AND always the green

The new

and the notable.

On Abbott Kinney Boulevard you will be inclined to feel that

LIFE IS A BEACH and that a visit there is like a summer holiday.  Wherever you're coming from.

Yes.  I'm talking about: Happy Faces All Around.  

Abbott Kinney is worth the detour on your next visit to L.A.  Be prepared for great visuals and bring a generous credit limit!  It's a nice complement to seafront wanderings (Previous Venice posts here).

I hope your summer is going well.  Wherever you are!