Venice

As I am strolling down the walkway towards the beach I can start to feel the warmth of the sand between my toes. I have just arrived at El Lido; the true paradise of Venice. The water is a beautiful hue of turquoise which glistens with each ray of sunlight. Floating along the water are bright yellow paddleboats with slides which I have never seen before. The strong smell of salt water fills the air while I reminisce of my last time at a beach. The time that came to mind was in Florida but something was different about this beach. El Lido was illuminated with happy, laughing faces. Everyone was having the time of their life and I couldn’t wait to join in. No one seemed to know what time of day it was, nor did they care. This is the lifestyle I could only dream of.  

This culture isn’t about money and who has the most; it’s about enjoying the simple things in life. These people find more enjoyment than I could ever imagine in simple conversations that I am envious of and wish our culture would develop. One conversation that I overheard while at the beach was between two female tourists around the ages of twenty.  These girls were discussing how they wished they could take off a month to relax and enjoy life as the Italians did but knew it was unrealistic. I began to ponder this idea and agreed with them- this would be completely unacceptable in our culture. If anyone tried to do this in America they would no longer have their job. This brings me to the point that the Italian lifestyle is much more laid back than our own. As I have heard multiple times before, the Italians work to live, while we live to work. At a restaurant in America, the check is handed to you before you are even done eating; while in Italy you ask for the check and then continue to wait…