"We are not ones to partake in Group Tours, or carefully curated experiences - we prefer to explore on our own, and enjoy the spontaneity of the moment.
I gave that summary to my stepson, and for Mother's Day, he found this experience for us - the word "Private" was the key - and we were excited to arrive in Venice and have this be our experience for the evening.
Ahead of our evening, we communicated with Massimo (Max) who asked if we had any food allergies or preferences, and arranged a meeting place that was easy to find, despite us never having been in Venice previously.
From the square, we met at 6pm, and from there walked through the labyrinth of the Venice streets to arrive at a corner courtyard, where Massimo used his key to open the gate, and inside and up the stairs we went. This was completely unexpected, as we had no idea where we were headed - outside a second floor window, we stopped and picked some herbs from the window garden, as it dawned on us that we were going to spend the evening in his home.
The simple kitchen, with cookware from his grandmother (politely borrowed), the opening of the sparkling wine kicked off the evening in a very unexpected way - we were not participating in a commercial venture, we were guests, welcomed from our travels with a home-cooked meal in which we would participate.
The stories, the process of cooking, the passion for flavor and the "old ways" made the preparation for the meal one of the most memorable experiences of our trip. We learned as we prepared, focaccia, pasta (hand rolled), and a sauce of our choosing, with an amazing protein (which he obtained from the market that morning) and then the final presentation - the atmosphere, the ambience, everything came together perfectly as we dined with our new friend.
An overall amazing experience that we will never forget, and one that we can never hope to repeat. Can't say enough about our time with Massimo."
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