Lido, Italy

“Nature is by and large to be found out of doors, a location where, it can not be argued, there are never enough comfortable chairs.”
- Fran Lebowitz

Summer beaches are beautiful. They are places where I romanticize being without any objectives. I simply love spending time near the sea and long to be there very often. I have been to many during my travels, and grew up near the beaches of Busan, Korea, where I spent summers connecting with my family. I can still smell the salt air, hear ocean waves crash, and feel the bonds amongst my loved ones.

During my travels, I have gathered a beautiful collection of beaches, and one of my favorites is the charming and romantic Lido, Italy. My recent weekend with my mother in Lido felt impressively peaceful and we enjoyed many reflective moments together.

To everyone’s assumption, I encountered all kinds of people, including toddlers, teens, honeymooners, and retirees, while on the beach. However, to my surprise, Lido was peacefully quiet without many August beach visitors. My mother and I enjoyed the serenity and played up to the tradition of renting a beachfront cabana at the Excelsior Hotel.

I visited the Excelsior back in 2003, much impressed with its original architecture by Aga Khan in a Moroccan style. I became enamored by its romanticized concept with the full understanding of the glamour of travel during the 1950s and 1960s. The hotel concept provides not only romantic notions, but also a perfect platform for parties of the Venice Film Festival and other festivities for all visitors. Although many parts are worn and the hotel thirsts for an overall interior refurbishment, it is an ultimate destination focused property. (I feel, if renovated, the property deserves a timeless and tasteful design expert.) To match the hotel’s tarnished impression, the receptionists at the front desk conduct their business with tired, abusive service attitudes that force me neither to recommend nor stay at the hotel.

The best of Lido today is her beach, where I unloaded the jetlag and enjoyed the cabana’s amenities. The aroma of Venice blew away with the breeze from the Adriatic Sea, and bright summer sunlight burned away my travel exhaustions.