Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Italian Adventure 2012- Verona, Italy


Verona: A beautiful, historic city of piazzas, basilicas, towers, art, and a Roman amphitheater.  But most known for? A fictional story of the romance between two teenagers who killed themselves for their "love" after having known each other for like 3 days. Who wouldn't want to visit the city after reading Romeo and Juliet?


Ok, that was harsh. My apologies, Shakespeare. Let's try that again.

Verona: Beautiful, historic, artistic, and idyllic. The perfect place to set a story that would stand the test of time and awe the world many times over, thanks to it's focus on the most basic and craved of themes: true love

Shakespeare aside, Verona is a wonderful little city. And when I say little, I mean tiny. The main tourist areas can easily be walked around in a few hours, which was something I loved. I'm a pretty lazy and cheap tourist, to be honest. I love to walk around, snap pictures, and see the most popular sights, but if I have to shell out money to go in, I usually don't.

"But isn't that pointless? You are missing out on so much!". Eh well maybe. It depends on what you want to look at really. I would rather enjoy the ambience and explore the whole city, than spend several hours inside one building. I'm not big on guided tours, because while they provide lots of information, I can read all the info myself and see everything they are planning on showing us in less than half the time.

Plus, small tourist areas are great for "Diluted Tourism",  which involves enjoying the atmosphere, taking a picture, having a glass of wine (then repeat). This is my favvvve way of being a tourist. Especially when you add in a little shopping! (Just a little, seriously. My man can spend all day walking through Zara, but I burn out after 10 minutes in a shop).


Map of Historic Verona

 Back to Verona. This is one of those cities where you park in the first parking lot you find, and take it all in on foot. The weather was chilly (but thankfully, after 3 days of rain, dry). Entering through the main gate, we started our visit in the Piazza Bra. The largest of the Piazzas, it is surrounded on one side by the gate, another by large government buildings, another by restaurants and shops, and the last, the Arena (more on the Arena later).

Arena Roman Amphitheater, in the Piazza Bra
We headed down the Via Mazzini, which is lined with shops (the man was happy, of course). After a little shopping, a little waiting while the men shopped, and a little whining to finally get them out of the shops, we made it to the Piazza Delle Erbe. A great place for a brief break, as it was filled with market stalls peddling souvenirs, hot doughnuts, and random baubles. We stopped here for a glass of wine, which was a wonderful choice because we managed to find a place right in the sun. Nothing like a cold glass of Prosecco while the sun shines on your face!

Next to the Piazza is the Torre de Lamberti. 
Torre dei Lamberti
Feeling rejuvenated after our vino, we decided to take on the tower. Six euros gets you entrance and the chance to ascend the tower, which was built in 1464. Well, they started in 1172, but obviously it took them awhile to finish. The tower is 84 meters high, and I was the ONLY one out of the four of us with the enthusiasm and vigor to climb the steps all the way to the top (lazy people take elevators :-P ).
That's a lot of steps. 
Well, needless to say it took my awhile to get to the top. And man, was I tired! But, of course the views were worth it.
View form the top of the Torre dei Lamberti
Ok, I'll be honest. I took the elevator down. You would have too!

Leaving there, we decided to head to the Casa di Giulietta. English? Juliet's House. That's right, a house where a fictional character "lived". Interesting.

Juliet's Balcony 
While it is a fictional tourist spot, it is still sweet and an intriguing place to visit. I'm sure you know of the movie "Letters to Juliet" where people write letters and stick them on the walls? Well, unfortunately you cannot do that anymore. The wall is blocked off. There is a gate along another wall that has been turned into a love lock haven (like in Prague), and outside of Juliet's house's courtyard are walls covered with love notes written on... gum.


Yeah it is a bit odd. And disgusting. Still, the area has an aura of romance about it, reminiscent of years of lovers and the lovelorn visiting and dreaming.

After we got our fill of the lovey-dovey side of Verona, we headed back out in the streets. Where we went next, I can't exactly tell you, because I do not know. I know that we saw some lovely buildings, walked along the water for awhile, took a break for some wine (at my insistance, of course) and then finally made it back to the Piazza Bra. 




When we had been in the Piazza earlier in the day, the Arena was closed. Luckily, this time it was open, and we got to go in and check it out. Another six Euros, but money well spent to relish a bit of history.

As you see in the picture, they were taking down some framework which, during the summer, is the stage for many a popular opera. While I am not a huge opera fan, I am a bit sad that we missed out on that experience- I am assuming it is quite magical!

The Arena is tiny compared to the one in Rome, but it is in decent shape, and a great illustration of the Roman genius in building. Getting into the main seating area was easy enough, as we followed the crowds. On the way out, though, we kept getting lost, finally just going back to the place where we came in, and exiting there. Definitely a place I would not like to be stuck in at night, or if there was a tiger on the loose!

Inside the Arena
Overall thoughts of Verona?

 We were only there for a few hours (staying 2 hours away in the mountains made the visit quite onerous), but I am glad we made the trip. I wish we had been able to spend the night there, but alas, maybe next time. I don't think the city requires more than a day and night for a visit, as it is quite compact. An October visit meant that there were some crowds (as I bet there always are), but it wasn't crazy, like it probably gets in the warmer seasons. The romantic character of the city, in addition to the historic structures and attractive art make this city a must visit on a trip to Italy.


Other blog posts about my Italian Vacation:
Overview
Lake Garda
Milan



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