I Learned that You Have Family Everywhere

We stepped off the dock and something about the world changed around me. There weren't cars, just boat taxis, no big city hustle, everyone there took their time. A concept only few people where I'm from actually celebrate. The pathways were small and the people were kind. I was in Venice and I never wanted to leave. 

Venice, Italy is a small city at the top of Italy at the coast of Adriatic Sea. My family and I traveled there in the summer of 2014. It was our last stop on our tour of the Caribbean. We went Turkey, a couple cities in Greece, and Paris. Which I understand isn't on the Caribbean, but hey we went there. Venice is known but not for the reasons that it should be. The culture there was the classic Italian  feel. People were loud, the food was good, and everyone has a home

So lets start with the people. The sidewalks were small in between each building and with all the voices it was hard to anyone. But between all the madness I hear, "come sta la tua famiglia."Don't ask me how I remember all of this I just do. Anyway, it was a shock for me how can person be that clear in a place like that. Responses were coming out of thin air to the point where my head started to spin. So on that first day in Venice, I learned that people can be pretty loud 

Venice Image provided by telegraph

The food, oh my god the food!!! I hope all of you that are reading this has had Italian food before if so, you have never had Italian food like this. It was all made fresh the pasta didn’t come from boxes. Everything I ate there was drool worthy. It wasn’t just the taste of it though, it was the smell and the sounds around. Which sounds totally weird I get it but you had to be there. When you sit down in a restaurant like that first thing you notice is the smell of freshly baked dough. Then you here the chefs conversing in the back. Which makes you feel at it home. 

Which also brings me to my next topic. You find a home there. Sure tourists are noisy and they take up space. Believe me I’ve dealt with plenty to assure you that one. But they accept you there. For example, my family and another family went out to dinner our second or third night in Venice. All of what I had said before was true, the food was great, the chefs were talkative and people were yelling. But behind all of those sounds, was laughing and communicating. Something I haven’t seem my older sister do in a long time (slightly kidding). My favorite part of the night was when the owners came up to our table, pulled out chairs and starting talking to us. They called us brothers and sisters by the end of the night. 

Venice is the one place I would go back to in a heartbeat. It isn’t one of those trips you neglect talking about or you get sick of. That’s my take on Venice, thank you for staying with me.