I took a 2 month trip to travel around Europe from October to November. I ended my trip in Venice, Italy, a city I had visiting one other time for a day trip.

I wasn’t sure if I wanted to include Venice in my internary because “it’s overcrowded with tourists” or “it’s too touristy, it’s not authentic anymore.”

But in the end I booked 3 nights there and decided to give this trip to my inner child.

I’m so glad I did!

I started learning to play the violin at age 10 and I had a children’s story on CD about the classical composer Antonio Vivaldi and a little girl who arrives at his orphanage in Venice. In the story they work to solve a mystery together while she plays at his music school for orphans. I was obsessed with this CD and with Vivaldi’s music and always dreamed of visiting Venice. I visited in April of 2010 and got a tour by some friends who lived nearby and it was great. Venice is enchanting!

This time I said to myself, “What would 10 or 12 or 14-year-old Alison want to do on this trip?”

She liked ghost stories and spooky stuff so I ended up:

booking an evening true ghost stories walking tour of Venice (via Airbnb experiences)
Taking a boat to the cemetery island
Focusing on wandering around the less tourist places dreamily
Going to a Vivaldi music concert
Getting photos taken of myself in a Venitian mask and period-style clothing just for the romance of it
Drinking wine and eating good food
Not rushing anywhere and not being too busy
Flirting with Italians

I didn’t worry about seeing all the sights.

My birthday is December 22nd so this had the additional significance of being an early birthday present to me and to make up for having sad birthdays in childhood because friends were always doing Christmas things.

It ended up being not too touristy! December is a great month to visit! And all the touristy things, like the Burger King inside of an old historic building—I just ignored them and focused on following my bliss.

It’s good to do things for our inner child sometimes—it’s healing. We hold onto these wounds made by all the times we didn’t feel fully seen and heard as children. By going on this trip, I offered myself and my younger self that seeing and knowing. That was the only thing I set out to do. Mission accomplished.

I highly recommend:

The hotel/hostel I stayed in: Combo Venice
Puppa Bar Venezia, a quiet little place for amazing pasta
Taking the water taxi to the airport! I can now say I’ve taken a boat to an airport!

A highlight of my time was talking at length to a woman making masks and running a mask shop (the one where I purchased the gold mask I’m wearing) about how Venice has changed over the years and her perception of the tourism (she seemed to be at peace with it).

Please enjoy some of my photos:

The Cemetery:

I visited the graves of Igor Stravinsky and Ezra Pound, among others.

Food and drink:

Quotes from Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism and Other Arguments for Economic Independence by Kristen R. Ghodsee:

“When women enjoy their own sources of income, and the state guarantees social security in old age, illness, and disability, women have no economic reason to stay in abusive, unfulfilling, or otherwise unhealthy relationships.”
“You are not a commodity. Your depression and anxiety are not just chemical imbalances in your brain but reasonable responses to a system that thrives on your dehumanization.”
“If done properly, socialism leads to economic independence, better labor conditions, better work/family balance, and, yes, even better sex.”
“The growing millennial support for socialism had less to do with the inherent radicalism of youth and more to do with the failures of traditional parties to rein in the worst excesses of capitalism”