A Welcoming City

One thing I’ve noticed during my week in Venice is the genuine welcome feeling the entire city puts out. What’s even more refreshing is that this sense of welcoming doesn’t leave once you stray from the tourist areas. What one would think is just an excellent business plan is actually how Venetians choose to act all the time.

An excellent example of this was the restaurant we journeyed to on Wednesday night. Osteria alla Staffa, which came highly recommended by our professor, was one of my favorite places of the week. The restaurant isn’t large by any means but it has seats for about eighteen people and throughout the night those seats were filled. However they weren’t filled by the quick turnaround of customers we witness in the U.S. They were filled by the same people throughout the night because in Venice dinner is almost a celebration and sometimes can take all night. Upon entering the restaurant and being seated we noticed that the menu was entirely in Italian. Although we had picked up a few phrases here or there none of our group could decipher more than a quarter of that night’s options. Instead of getting upset with us for being unable to interpret our choices our waiter fielded all of our questions throwing in recommendations and further explanations as needed. This process took longer than the usual ordering time but settling in and looking around it was clear that speed was not the desired outcome of the night. As far as I could tell alla Staffa had one waiter and one cook. While the cook prepared our outstanding meals, preparing as much as four courses for a couple of tables, the waiter saw to all the tables and those who walked in for a drink and a chat. Although catching up with a local who walked in may be seen by some as a lack of attention or service to those dining at the tables, it was clear that was not the intent. When walking into alla Staffa, you were walking into an entire evening of friendly service. There was no rush or pressure because speed was not the main goal of the night. Enjoyment was.

Another example of the welcoming environment of Venice was walking by all of the shops. I don’t mean the vendors on the street who try their hardest to catch your eye or ear for a few moments. I mean the shops that are tucked around the corner that carry what I would like to call the unique treasures of Venice. Walking down the street you pass by many shopkeepers who as you pass say “prego” meaning you are welcome. They don’t pressure you to follow them into their store allowing you to look at the window display or merely glance at the prices before making up your mind. Then if you do decide to follow them into their shop they show you around, offering information about different objects and pointing out items that may be of interest to you. Not once did I feel pressured into buying something just because I entered a store and no matter if I made a purchase or not I was given a friendly send off.

These two specific examples helped me realize over the week that Venice really does put up its best front no matter who is looking. Whether it be a trinket store in a highly touristy area or a local restaurant that sees very few tourists, Venetians are highly welcoming and friendly.