DER LING LANE – ONE OF CARMEL’S SECRET PASSAGEWAYS AND HIDDEN COURTYARDS
I round the corner of Lincoln and Ocean Ave and start my walk up Ocean, window shopping as I go.
Just past the Carmel Bakery , a door stands open to a long, narrow lane.
I , among others, have often stood indecisively in this door way wondering if it is open to the public.
The Tomas Kinkade sign over the door
and the painting on the easel at the end of the stone-paved lane encourage me.
An arched trellis covered with Virginia creeper forms the ceiling . Plants line one side and shop side-doors the other.
Today the dutch door of B&G Jewelers stands half open
and I peer in to admire the contents of their display cases.
Contact – B&G Jewelers, B&G Estate Jewelers, Fine Jewelry Since …
I like the simple pots of white bacopa along the wall.
The painting draws me on
through the weathered door propped open by a pot of flowers.
I take a last look back down the lane
and then discover the well- hidden garden courtyard.
Behind me is the house that contains the shops I have passed.I love the arbor over the patio.
In front of me I see a small yellow shop with and inviting patio complete with cafe table,
bench and street light.
This shop has the distinction of being Thomas Kinkade’s original Carmel studio and workshop.
Mr. Kinkade was so taken by this cute English Cottage and garden that he created the painting “Studio in the Garden” which became a sold-out collector piece.
When I was here last, the gallery was closed for renovation and has opened under new ownership. It is very small but displays a nice variety of his work. I love this one of Ocean Ave. in Carmel
and this one of the warf area in San Francisco.
Thomas Kinkade Garden Gallery of Carmel
The lane continues through this iron gate with a unique latch
that suggest the next business I come to.
This is a chance to sample wine from the Galante vinyards. The Galante family has a long history in Carmel. Jack Galante is the great-grandson of Frank Devendorf, one of the first land developers to create the town of Carmel.
Galante Vineyards Wine Tasting
I pop out of the lane into one of Carmel’s newest parks.
Piccadilly Park is an open space
designed with ornamental and native plants that are appropriate for Carmel’s climate and water conservation needs and is a project of the Carmel Garden Club.
Later, while I am writing this blog, I am still wondering how this lane got it’s unusual name. So I go to that reliable standby “Wikipedia” and learn the Chinese Princess Der Ling lived in the “Forbidden City” and wrote several books about her experiences. No wonder I had the feeling this lane might be forbidden to the public!
Once upon a time..Tales from Carmel by the Sea 
What a lovely post!!!
I would so much like to walk along this avenue and enter the narrow lane, it is so beautiful ! I fell in love with the house having the arbor over the patio…So dreamy… And I love Thomas Kinkade paintings, I would surely have a look into the gallery.
You live in a beautiful city, I would love to visit this town one day.
I last saw this lane when I was a child, and as the biographer of Princess Der Ling I have often wondered about the origin of its name. Incidentally, another of my subjects, the Chinese shadow theatre expert Pauline Benton, had a place of business not far from Der Ling Lane in the 1960s. I’d enjoy knowing how the lane received this name.
Best regards – Grant Hayter-Menzies
Hi Linda – another wonderful post I discovered while googling Der Ling Lane!! I am working on putting together some tour maps through zeemaps – they will be walking tours via the internet and my blog and wanted to link this to the Der Ling courtyard and another one you did on the Golden Bough Courtyard. Let me know if this is ok. If you prefer I do not, that is fine, You did such a great job I am not sure I want to reinvent the wheel, so to speak. Thank you and God bless.
Where in the world, does this place exist?