The Youth Hostel in Verona was a terrible place to stay. Anne and I were on our honeymoon, backpacking through Europe. We were dirt poor and staying at Hostels to stretch out our dollars. They definitely varied in quality, but the one in Verona was astonishing. They had no couple’s rooms, so Anne went upstairs while I was relegated to the basement.
The men’s dorms slept 25 guys to a room. The dorm itself was cavernous and walled with tiles, so it was freezing and everything echoed. No one slept. The morning shower was a pipe stuck upright in the floor of a huge room. The water erupted upwards. You were expected to clean yourself in the spray. It was cold and it was miserable.
By the time I met Anne for breakfast in the common dining area I looked and felt terrible. Anne, however, was glowing and full of life, ready for a day of sightseeing. The women’s dorms, Anne told me, had four girls in a room and each room had its own bathroom with a full, and normal, shower. She had three roommates and they were all getting along great. My response was more than a little grumpy.