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A 1999 Venetian Trip Full of Warmth and Love
Unforgettable hospitality from an Italian friend
There are many interpretations of the term ‘hospitality’. It could mean rapport with a stranger in a foreign land. It could mean home-cooked food and enjoyable conversation with the locals. It could be wonderful service at a hotel. It could be a random act of kindness.
I agree with all the above ideas. However, hospitality is also about the warmth extended by family and friends, both at home and abroad.
Traveling is not just about beautiful buildings or expensive restaurants. If you think about your own travels, you might find that it’s really about the people you meet and the memories you make with them, rather than the famous monuments you stood in front of.
To clarify my thinking, I want to talk about my travels to Padua and Venice back in 1999. Yes, it’s so last century.
To tell you the truth, I don’t remember the mechanics of getting there from Zurich (where I was an exchange student), all that well. I couldn’t give you an hour-by-hour account of everything I did there and how I traveled.
But what I do remember is the laughter, the care, the food, and the warmth I experienced when I stayed with a dear…
