Disconnected in Venice

Just leaving Venice. Our 2nd stop on our trip. We had a time! This city is like a romantic movie set. Irie was a trooper and walked a lot. I was worried she was going to complain the whole time but she is a great travel buddy. I will say that most parts of Venice is a tourist money trap and the dollar is not very strong right now. I didn’t anticipate spending so much money this early in our trip but I’ll worry about it when I’m back home 😫 For now I’m staying present. I stayed off of my phone for this duration of our trip and I could feel the change in her energy towards me. So many random hugs and kisses as we walked the streets of Venice. Romancing my daughter in this romantic city made me so happy. Being present was easy and I just surrender to the fact that everything back home with work will get handled by Jamilah and whoever else we’ve hired to do the other stuff. I decided to say yes to almost everything she asked for and that included eating gelato three times in one day lol. I romanced her in this romantic city and I’m understanding the importance of that at this age. She’s making decisions now on how she deserves to be treated, listened to and valued. I want to set the bar high AF because she is a good kid. She listens, she’s patient and is just a cool girl.

We had a moment in Berlin that made me sad and really set the tone for how I plan to move through the rest of this trip. We were playing a game and using letters to represent certain parts of our personality and she said “A” stands for addicted to your phone. I hate that. It’s been a constant that’s come up over the years and I feel shitty about it. Having a business that runs mostly on social and my phone + a long distance relationship would make it appear that I am on my phone a lot. I don’t want her to have that vision of me but I do fear it’s too late. Hopefully not, which is why I probably won’t be posting too much till I get back the states and also why next year I will be making some big changes in our business. Anyway, I’m writing this as she sleeps on the train to our next destination, which is….

Cinque Terre!

It’s the Italian Riviera which consists in 5 (cinque means “five” in Italian) small villages nestled next to each other. It’s a magical looking place.

Below are some pictures from our time in Venice. Add Venice to your lists of places to come with kids or a lover ❤️

Travel Tips:

• Pull money out when you get to Italy. The exchange rate sucks
• Always get breakfast included in your hotel stay when traveling with a kid but make sure it’s a good breakfast!
• Get the canal ride inside the city center and not at Rialto our by the ocean front. Tourist trap!
• Keep snacks in our purse for the kids to save some extra money
• Take a mask making class in Venice at Camacana. We made the most beautiful trditional masquerade masks that I will be wearing for my lover 😈
• Suso is not the best Gelato in Venice despite popular belief. Trust us we tried 6 places lol. It was our mission to find the best and we agree it’s Gelateria Nico
• Eat at Entoeca Al Volto and get the clam and mussel pasta 😍
• Get lost in the Maze of Venice. It truly is a maze with the tiniest walk ways and paths!
• Romance your kid or yourself in this or any romantic city.