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In the 80’s every time I was in L.A. I had to visit Venice Beach and be part of the madness. In the 90’s not so much. I used to refer my student travellers to visit Venice Beach but I stayed away. In the early part of this interesting decade, I had the wonderful opportunity to work and live in L.A. so occasionally I drove down to Venice and checked out the interesting transformation taking place but didn’t have the chance to see the finished product/project before leaving L.A.  So with this visit, I was determined to drive down  to Venice and check on the progress and sure enough as I parked my car and walked towards Main Street, I quickly smiled to myself because I knew I would love the results as I plotted my walk down the street.

Suburban Venice has transformed into a wonderful place for the older crowd (especially women over 40) to visit and actually consider spending a few days there in order to enjoy shopping, get a facial and a message  or perhaps create a personalized perfume.

The two streets for the 40 plus  crowd are Main Street and Abbot Kinney Boulevard, both about a mile or so long. Along both streets, there are boutique shops, spa salons,  quant restaurants and bars on for the passers by to enjoy. The most amazing part of both streets is that they are designed in eco-friendly deco and architecture with streamlined display cases and furnishing to showcase their products.

Being a fan of modern architecture and an avid supporter of  eco-friendly deco, I couldn’t have been more happier to walk down the streets and visit the shops and admire the window displays. I was happy to see they had  transformed Venice into a beautiful adult play land. I didn’t get a chance to eat at any of the restaurants but believe me after checking out the menus, this place is on my list to visit over and over again just to get a chance to indulge in Venice cuisine.

So if you happen to love modern architecture or eco-friendly decor, I recommend  while walking along Abbot Kinney Boulevard, to turn down Andalusia Street and check out the amazing newly remodelled homes in eco-friendly decor and landscape. In fact Venice is having an eco-friendly festival on July 10th weekend and if you happen to be in Los Angeles, make it a point to check it out.

Anyway, women over 40, I highly recommend including Venice on your list of places to visit while in L.A. and if you have the time, stay in a hotel in the area just to make sure you have the opportunity to visit both streets and enjoy the amazing cuisine along the way.