Venice ::: Days 1, 2

Venice is lovely. It makes me think of an old paperback book that has been dropped in the bathtub, and then set out to dry in the sun. It bleeds, like ink running down a page. It's weathered and faded. And kind of misshapen, like it's taken on too much water, dried, and never settled quite right again.

Every street, corner and bridge is like the perfect picturesque scene for something terribly romantic. Not necessarily in the sense that calls to mind couples in love. There are plenty of those in Venice. For a girl on her own, though, it felt rather like a place to be introspective and daydream about what life is like behind these walls.

I spent two full days in Venice. On my first day, I arrived off the night train from Vienna at 8:30am. It was sunny and the streets were just starting to come alive with shopkeepers opening up.

Carrying my heavy luggage up and down the canal bridges was hard work, so when a sleepy head poked out the hostel window of The Venice Fish and shouted down that check-in isn't until 1:00, I felt desperate enough to look for a hotel room.

I think I found the cheapest, dodgiest room in all of Venice. For 25 euros, I spent my first night in an electrical closet with a cot, just off the entrance to a one-star hotel. But they were willing to give me a shower right away, so I went with it.

The walls and low ceiling were covered in blood smears from squashed mosquitoes. It was lonely. And I nearly got trapped forever in this dungeon. Housekeeping had piled several heavy bags of used linens in front of my door in the morning. I had to give the glass door (covered in posters on the outside for privacy) several shoves with my hip in order to get out. I'm assuming a former occupant had the same troubles because the glass was shattered in precisely this spot.

This was not how I imagined Venice, presumably the most romantic city on Earth. I decided to go back to The Venice Fish at 1pm that morning. This time they didn't answer their bell at all.

The one other hostel I was able to locate was Absolut Hostel. It was absolutely the place I needed to be. It's small, less than 30 beds, I'm guessing. It's on the second floor of a building at the end of an alley, consisting of a kitchen, living room, 2 bathrooms and a main hallway connecting all bedrooms. Everyone leaves their doors open during the day. I don't even think they have locks.

My dorm room, shared with 3 other women, was gorgeous. It was spacious, with a high, wooden ceiling and a crystal chandelier. This is more like the Venice I was expecting. A little bit rustic. A little bit decadent.

After I had lodging sorted on my second day, I spent the afternoon walking around Venice by myself. I took the water transportation (it's exactly like a subway or bus, except it's a boat) to Piazza San Marco and then walked around getting lost on the narrow streets.

That evening, I met 8 or 10 of the other guests back at the hostel. All were American and Canadian. We spent some time kicking back and chatting in the living room.We talked a lot about Florence. All of the guys had just come from there, and all of us girls were on our way there the next day.

I went out to dinner with Jonathan, a chef at Franny's in Park Slope, Brooklyn, which happens to be the neighborhood I've been discussing moving to with a friend when I return to the states. It was much better sharing a bottle of wine, some food and conversation with another person. The previous evening when I went out to dinner by myself, I got a lot of attention from the waiters for being all alone. They thought this was a travesty.

Morning at the hostel was perfect. People would wander in and out of the kitchen and living room in their PJs, drinking coffee, making eggs, and chatting about the day's plans. It felt like being home. Too bad I was leaving so soon, but two day in Venice is plenty. The first was alright. The second was great. But there's really not much to do.