Try and get off the main... by richiecdisc
Try and get off the main streets of the town, there are plenty of empty backstreets with equal charm and less people will make you feel the romance of the city.The main room of the house was simple and unassuming, with a long dining table, at the end of which was the desk of the patriarch of the family. It was a scene out of a movie or even my past. The man behind the desk could have been my Pop Pop (paternal grandfather) or Vito Corleone. He had the air of an old world Italian and had led a good life as evidenced by a few extra pounds, a result of a love of food and drink. He commanded respect and it was obvious he was in control of all that went on around him. Food was brought in continually and it was a room of great social importance, but it was also a place of business. I had arrived a guest that day but it seemed I was to become more. There was a matter of a business transaction to occur in Italy the next day. His son needed to go there early in the morning and it would be very useful for me to accompany him. Being an American, I could facilitate the border crossings, and could keep him company on the long drive. I had just taken an eight-hour train ride that morning essentially right from that direction and was none too fond of this new proposal but what could I say. I had been welcomed into the household as family, fed beyond full. It was proposed that to make the offer more enticing that after said business was concluded, we could go and visit Venice. I wanted to mull it over but it seemed there really was no choice here. I would be awoken at 4:00 am and we would make the long drive back through Slovenia to Italy, make the transaction before lunch at an Italian truck stop, and that head down to Venice. The border crossings were nerve wracking but perhaps more so in our minds than in any real sense. All went smoothly and on completion, we headed down to Venice. It was a glorious fall day, with blue skies and sun to warm the cool dry air. It was mid-week and off-season so there were no crowds to deal with and the cooler temperatures meant we would have none of the stench that Venice has a reputation for in the hotter summer months. We wandered the streets for a couple hours and though this was not the dream date I had envisioned, there was no denying this was the most romantic of cities. After sunset, we hoped back in the car for the long drive back, arriving sometime after eleven. It had been a tiring day but now that it was over, it had been a good one. I?d gotten to see one of the most popular of European cities for free, one I had no plans on seeing on this trip, and I?d fulfilled an obligation to a family that had taken me in. The father was happy. He had made an offer and I hadn?t refused.
