Strolling the Canals of Venice…Beach 10.27.12

This year I wasn’t able to travel to Europe for vacation, but I was still able to go to Italy! Okay, not really, but we took a day trip to the beaches near Los Angeles, including Venice Beach. We love unique and fun places, so it was definitely on our list. Since Venice Beach is just 8 miles from Santa Monica, I decided to do them both in one day. Before our trip, I looked up more things to do in Venice and it turns out that developer Abbot Kinney had a Venice in America plan and recreated 16 miles of the Italian canals in 1905.

Unfortunately, 75% of the canals have since been covered up, because the sidewalks and houses surrounding them fell into disrepair in the 30s and 40s. The city was salvaged and the remaining canals are lined by million-dollar homes and looked amazing online, so Eric and I wanted to see them for ourselves. We parked at the beach and walked down to Washington Boulevard on the advice of a local walking his dog. Although I was bummed that I couldn’t rent a gondola to float down the water, I still wanted to experience the neighborhood.

The houses aren’t large, though they are fantastic “beachfront” houses with small yards and large mortgages/rents. They have the advantage of being steps from the beach, having a great walking neighborhood and being on a manmade river that they can cruise down. The banks of the canals are lined with small boats owned by the residents. Maybe they row down the river to their friends’ houses when the weather is nice. Whatever the case, I’m sure it’s a beautiful view from their tiny balconies.

We visited the beaches on a weekday on the off-season, so we didn’t get the whole experience of Venice, but I love that the beach is clean and there are two sidewalks. One is specifically for bicycles and the other is for walkers. It’s a great way to keep traffic separate and minimize accidents. I did get to see an old guy rollerblading in a pair of jean cut-offs, but mostly we enjoyed the quiet day and watching bicyclists roll by.

Venice is a great way to enjoy both the beach and a recreation of the European canals on a budget. Both are free, there are usually unique street performers and there are plenty of fun shops and restaurants to choose from, too.

Have you been to Venice Beach? If so, what was your favorite part?

Social Travel Infographic 10.26.12

Social Travel become a travel-planning trend. With so much information available online, it's almost impossible to using any kind of social media. Reviews, Facebook, Twitter and blogs are all amazingly helpful in planning travel of any kind. Obviously, you are already doing at least some social travel, since you read this blog. If you aren't doing more online to make your vacation awesome, maybe you will want to join the growing masses after checking out this Infographic from TouristLink.

How has Social Travel changed how you travel?

Disney's Mad T Party 10.24.12

In case you weren’t aware, I love Disney theme parks. We hadn’t been to Disneyland in almost four years, so between our last trip in 2008 and our trip earlier this month, a lot of new things have been added to the Disneyland Resort. With the announcement of Cars Land, we were pretty much just on the verge of vacationing in Anaheim, so it wasn’t the biggest disappointment when we couldn’t go to Europe this year. I mean, our Plan B was so exciting, it was hard to be too sad. Disney would have been in our trip plans regardless, it was just a matter of it being in California or France.

A few weeks before we were ready to leave, I was looking at show times for the parks and came across something called the Mad T Party at California Adventure. The limited information I got from the Disney site made me think that it was like a dance club within California Adventure, so I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect when we got there. We stumbled upon the party on the first Sunday we were there, in between fancy dinner at the new Carthay Circle Restaurant and the amazing World of Color water show. I had it on my schedule as something to check out, even though I had no idea where it would be.

Down the rabbit hole

The open space they used to have by Monsters, Inc and The Muppets 4D has been put to good use with a stage, giant lamps, an arcade, a lounge area and two kiosks where you can buy beverages – both themed alcoholic and non-alcoholic – to get into the Alice in Wonderland spirit. Imagine going to your favorite club, putting it outside and not having to pay a cover. That’s Mad T Party. The Mad Hatter and his band play, including tunes belted out by a rocker Alice, for 20-30 minutes at a time throughout the evening and in between you can play games, hang out, get on a ride or shop for Wonderland merchandise at the pop-up store nearby.

The Mad Hatter, in addition to being insanely cute, wears crazy edgy outfits and his signature hat, while belting out popular tunes from different eras. You may hear Black Eyed Peas one song and then Prince the next. It was a great mix, the vibe was good and there was even room for dancing – in the middle of the rest of the crowd enjoying the show.

So, what kinds of drinks do they serve? In addition to the regular Coke products, the now popular Fuze drinks and bottled water, you can also grab a beer (Blue Moon or Fat Tire), a croquet-tini, Mad Hat-ito, Mad Long Island Ice T Party, Cotton Candy Lemonade, Cheshire Chiller (frozen pear drink), Jabberwocky Juice (frozen apple drink) and Hot Chocolate. The prices are right up there where you would expect them to be, but your cup is festive and blinky for that Disneyland rave feel. I was hoping for themed food as well, but no such luck. They did have this cute souvenir hat that you could buy for them to put your beverage in.

Another night we were able to go in and see a bit more of the show and explore the rest of the party. They had air hockey tables set up near the larger Drink Me drink counter and an arcade with Wonderland-themed games, such as Cheshire Cat’s Smile Smash, Queen’s Croquet and Frajous Day Frenzy. We played a few games and then went back out to browse the pop-up shop’s goods and marvel at the giant flamingos - stilt walkers in costume. You can also dance to beats spun by the house DJ - the White Rabbit. Apparently, Tweedle Dee and Dum make an appearance, as well as a dance crew, in between sets but we weren’t fortunate enough to experience these. I’m guessing because we were visiting in the off-season. If we lived nearby, we would certainly have season passes and be visiting Disney often for the party and to eat at any of the yummy restaurants in the park.

Have you been to the Mad T Party yet? What did you think?