Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Carmel-by-the-Sea: Lifestyles of the Rich

 

I found Carmel to be similar to the Napa Valley in that every piece of owned land had some humanly-directed purpose.

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For example, this footpath must have been deemed not to be doing enough, so had little floral inserts along its length.  In fact, while there were wide – and decorated – footpaths around the shops, there were very few footpaths, sorry, sidewalks, anywhere else.  Most houses had gardens which went directly to the street.  Carmel apparently still has a law that you cannot wear high heels without a permit.  This was enacted to stop people from suing the council for tripping accidents.  

The only person we did see wearing high heels was a stout, richly-dressed elderly lady who was commissioning a sculpture from one of Carmel’s 90+ art galleries.  And she had to employ her toy-boy to transport her down the steps as her heels became entangled in the doormat.

Here are some typical Carmel-by-the-Sea gardens.  Notice how the gardens have absorbed the footpaths/sidewalks and come right to the edge of the street.

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This house was for sale for $4.9 million.  And it wasn’t even on the sea front.

 

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If you sat on this seat, you would be knocked out by these Angel’s Trumpets.

 

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Even the Episcopalian Church is obliged to have a garden.

 

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A street in Carmel-by-the-Sea.  See how footpaths/sidewalks have been completely absorbed by gardens, so that pedestrians (i.e. us) have to walk on the street.

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