Tripper of the Week: Venice Local Adriano D
He's traveled to a dozen countries and lived in three, Venice-based Tripper Adriano D is our Tripper of the Week....
Tell us a little about your background
I was born in Wallachia, the southern region of Romania, and grew up in Veneto, the north-eastern region of Italy. I was raised by my grandmother who explored most of the countries in Europe, and her husband my grandfather went even farther, to Africa. So since I was very young the desire for adventure and exploration had been deeply rooted in me and my grandmother was very inspiring to me.
Can you share your favorite experience hosting a traveler?
I think I have no favorite hosting experience. I have hosted many people and I met even more, and I am unable to say I have a favorite one because each of them had something unique, unrepeatable. I always hosted when I had the possibility to dedicate myself completely to my guest and one person at a time because I always approached this with a view to making friends, people that I could keep in touch with afterwards and visit every once in a while and have them in my life.
Based on my own experience, the best experiences are those when the host and the guest have different things in common, ideas, points of view, personality traits, because this way a sort of link between the two builds up and connects them.
What makes Köln, Germany an Carcassonne, France and Râşnov, Romania your favorite places on earth?
Haha! :) There are many nice places on Earth but the question to ask ourselves after visiting any of such places is: would I move to live here?
I would move to live in Köln / Germany as I find this place as being so full of life, by daytime and by nighttime. I like the people in Germany because they are sincere and honest and the population of this city is pretty big so there is always possible to meet new people and eventually make new friends. And I really love the way the city is built.
I would not move to Carcassonne or to Râşnov but I would visit them every once in a while because the geographical location where they are and their history allows them to be perceived as surrounded by magic and mystery.
What has been the most surprising trip you've taken?
As about the hosting experiences I find the same about the trips - each of them has something surprising, unique and unrepeatable moments. I love hitchhiking and sleeping outdoors. I find both exciting and full of unpredictability. I like and enjoy this. What brings me happiness is the journey, not the destination. Simply because through the process of facing and overcoming the difficulties that may arise along my journey I am able to enrich my essence. One thing that I noticed and that I find really surprising is how we meet thousands of people and none of them really touch us, and then we meet one person and our life is changed forever.
What is your favorite 'lesson' or insight you've gained on your travels?
Favorite? :) My absolute favorite lesson consists in simply putting the cheese in a different compartment of the backpack so that the clothes won't smell terrible the next day. ;)
What do you enjoy most about hosting others?
The activities we do and the memories we collect during the time we spend together.
What are some of the local places you like to go with first-time visitors to your city?
Well it depends on the feeling I get about the person I am hosting. If I feel there is any chance for us to become friends then I may take the person to my favorite spots of the city, otherwise I just show them around excluding my favorite spots.
Do you have any upcoming trips planned in the near future?
Yes, I will be hitchhiking around Hungary and then probably I will head to Germany, Scotland or Ireland.
Thanks to Adriano for sharing his story. Trippers, you can connect with Adriano via his Tripping profile and via his website.