I should’ve reviewed this restaurant a long time ago considering we’ve been going there since we first arrived in Caracas back in 2009. I love Italian food and while there’s an abundance of restaurants around, it took me a while to find one that was to my liking. Panini offers your garden variety pasta, meat and fish dishes al italiano. They also offer some great carpaccio appetizers. This picture of the outdoor area is my favorite place to sit. I have an aversion to air-conditioning anyway, but this area is covered and less noisy than the main room. Before telling you more about the food, I have to say that the service at this place is fantastic. The waiters know us and we always feel like we’re getting first class treatment. Only caveat is that they tend to get really busy around lunchtime and the wait time for your dish can be up to 45 minutes.

This last time we were there, I ordered lomito a la plancha con salsa de miel y vinagre balsamico (grilled steak with a balsamic vinegar and honey sauce). My sides were sautéed vegetables and mashed sweet potatoes. Delicious and very filling. My usual dish is called del Bosque which is pasta – your choice of linguine or penne – with chunks of fresh mozarella, tomatoes and basil. Also very good.

My favorite drink to order at Panini is a limonada frappé con grenadina (frozen lemonade with grenadine syrup). I’ve tried this at several other restaurants and they tend to be too sweet. Panini has the perfect blend which makes for a very refreshing drink while enjoying Caracas weather.

So, if you ever find yourself in Caracas…call me and we’ll head on over to Panini

After the earthquake in Haiti last year, I wrote about how generous I found Venezuelans to be in times of crisis. I hadn’t realized it then, but their generosity goes far beyond that.

In the US, I’m so used to seeing homeless people sitting on the side of the street and acting like I don’t see them. Or at intersections seeing disabled people holding signs asking for money and looking the other way. Even when walking down a street where a struggling artist is playing music with a donation cup in front of him/her, I manage not to look like I don’t notice. People asking for help don’t make me uncomfortable, I’m just so used to seeing them ignored that I easily jumped on the bandwagon. Not in Caracas.

There are people (usually with a disability) who hang around the intersections on our route to the kids’ school. Sometimes when I’m riding in the embassy car, the driver will slow down ahead of the light and hand over whatever loose change he has. Now, I know he’s not raking in the big bucks and yet he still feels the desire to help out. This isn’t once in a while, either. If he reaches the light and it’s red, he reaches in his pocket.

While on the train, you sometimes have small groups of young people playing instruments, singing, rapping or reciting poetry. They don’t hang out at the train stops (I think it’s illegal), but actually ride along with you. The first time I witnessed this, I simply thought “oh, they do that here, too”. What surprised me was as soon as we were arriving at the stop, almost everyone reached in their pockets, purses and wallets to give money. Even if it were only a few Bolivars, it was well received. So guess what? After the 4th time this happened, I reached into my pockets, as well.

These acts of kindness is just one more way Caraqueños break the stereotype of the habits of people in a big city. The best part is my kids see that the norm isn’t to ignore those in need, but to give/do what you can. In turn, another habit I hope to hang on to when our time here is over.