Vonderful Verona

March 4th
Our first independent travel break! My roommates and I decided to go to Verona; home of Romeo and Juliet. Verona is in Northern Italy located in the Provence of Vento and is close to the famous Venice. The journey there was an interesting one, and the experience in Verona was one of the best.
Here’s how our journey began….. giovedì (Thursday) after our literature class we got on a bus to Arezzo, and then a train to Bologna. Once in Bologna Jess, Megan, Kim and I looked at the train times to figure out what binaro or lane connecting train we would be leaving from; under the departures we found our train and saw that it was in binaro 7. Once we got to the location where our train was leaving from we realized that it was headed to Roma! We were very confused because the board had said we would be departing from binaro 7. We went back to look at the board and realized that we were in the 7th binaro ovest (west). We ran over to the ovest side of the transition and saw that we missed our connecting train. So we had to wait two hours for the next train.
Here is the good news; I had been craving an “American cheeseburger” for some time, and there just so happened to be a McDonald’s right next to the train station. I ordered a Big Mac, and it was one of the best I’ve ever had. After our delicious dinner we headed back to the train station and boarded our train to Verona.

We finally arrived in Verona at 11 pm. I had printed MapQuest directions from the train station to the Bed and Breakfast Divina so that we could easily get there. But when we got to Verona the MapQuest directions were nowhere to be found; we decided we could just try to figure it out. We started on our dark and rainy walk on a 4 lane high way. We crossed over the highway 2 different times so we would not have to walk past some suspicious looking men. We also saw a man stop and pick up a prostitute right in front of us. We thought it would be a good idea to stop and ask for directions, but because it was now 11:30 on a Thursday night, most places were closed. Luckily we found a café with two older gentlemen and a woman. We tried to ask them where we were but they did not speak any English. After a couple of minutes of trying to figure things out, the gentlemen told us that he would take us two at a time to our Bed and Breakfast. So Kim and I gratefully, yet a little hesitantly got in his car. He drove us to our street and then we waited for Megan and Jess to get there ride. We finally all made it to the bed and breakfast at 12:00. After about an hour of walking in the rain!
When we arrived the man from the Bed and Breakfast showed us to our room and the kitchen. He then got a map and showed us the most popular places to go. While looking at the map we saw where we had been before getting our ride, it was on the opposite side of town! After the long night we headed to bed!
March 5th
I woke up, got ready and headed straight to the Castlevechio. It is an old castle that now has a museum inside. I was able to see frescoes, sculptures, jewelry, weapons and paintings. One that I particularly liked was called Deposizione dalla Croce by Liberale Da Verona . It was a very moving piece to me. The expressions that Liberale Da Verona was able to create on the face of Jesus and his followers was incredible. Looking at the painting you are able to feel the pain and sadness expressed in the painting.

After the Castlevechio we got some lunch and went to Juliet’s house. Walking into the corridor there were lettere (letters) of different sizes and colors pinned on every space of the wall. Each letter was wishing for Juliet to help with love. Some said, “ Help me to find my Romeo” while others had initials a couples and wrote “forever.” I wrote my letter and pinned it to the wall! There was a statue of Juliet; people believe that touching her breast brings good luck to your love life, so I touched it, hopefully my good luck will come!

After Juliet’s house we stopped at a candy store. I felt as if I was half my age, as my excitement took over while I picked out one or two of just about every candy. We enjoyed eating our candy; some pieces were much better than others. I particularly liked the candy spider and a set of vampire teeth.
With our ”zucchero (sugar) high” we walked over to the Roman Arena. It was built in 30 AD and was able to seat 30,000 people. I loved it; it might have been one of my favorite things in Verona. Megan and I decided that we should run around the stadium. As we were running around the top row of the arena we were able to look down and see the city of Verona! These days the arena is used for Opera shows and plays. We were lucky for, there was hardly anyone there. It was as if we had the Arena all to ourselves!


We went to a nice Italian restaurant decorated with children movie and book characters. An Italian copy of Little Red Riding Hood was on our table. I ordered pasta with sundried pomodori (tomatoes), cheese and some meat for my first course and it was delicious. For my second course I ordered some bistecca (steak) cooked in soy and ginger. I ate every last bite of each of my courses, and I was stuffed. After dinner we went to go get a drink. There was a place that we had seen the night before on the same street as our bed and breakfast so we decided to go there. Once we walked in we realized that it was a German restaurant, but we decided to stay and get a drink. We figured since we were in a German restaurant it would be appropriate to get a beer, I got a Kulmacher. I saw a soft pretzel and chocolate fondue on the menu and even though I was still stuffed from my first two course meal I got both and stuffed myself even more. The combination of fruit and my pretzel dipped in chocolate was delectable!
March 6th
Sabbato (Saturday) morning we woke up ate colazione (breakfast) and headed off to find the Duomo of Verona. The Duomo was beautiful. I get awestruck walking into these cathedrals and seeing such detailed frescoes and paintings. I say it every time, but it’s true, the attention to detail is surprising.
After going into the Duomo we walked to the Pietra Bridge. The views were incredible. The green hills and buildings we saw from the bridge were beautiful. After standing and looking down over the bridge we went to sit beside the river. The sun was shining and we lay down and took in the scenery.

The next stop was the Giardino Giusti. The garden was nice, but because it’s winter the garden was not at its prime.

What caught my eye the most was the way the shrubbery seemed to be designed around the sculptures. Most of the sculptures couldn’t be fully appreciated since they were being covered for the winter. We were also able to climb the terrace of the garden and over look some of Verona.
After lunch we went to climb the Torre dei Lamberti, which is located in the Piazza Erbe. After 368 steps we reached the top.

Now I have climbed the Duomo in Florence, and the tower in Siena and Verona. I would love to make climbing to the highest possible thing in each city we visit a tradition. Though I enjoyed climbing the torre (tower) this experience was not my favorite. The area at the top was small, and there was a HUGE group of Asians literally running and screaming at the top. I felt as if at any moment I could get hit and get knocked over and fall!
After researching things to do in Verona we found that the night life is very popular. We headed to the Piazza Erbe after eating dinner to get a drink. The Piazza was surprisingly full considering that it was very cold outside. I found a spot next to a fire, sat down and did some people watching. It was a good end to another great day in Verona.

Verona was actually the favorite place that I have visited so far. Getting there was a little difficult, but we laugh about how our poor parents would have felt so helpless if we were to call them while we were: lost in the rain at 11:30 at night walking on the highway, seeing prostitutes, and getting a ride from a man who does not even speak our language. After getting there everything was perfect and so much fun! The city was quaint, yet touristy. It was the perfect mix and I would highly recommend traveling to Verona!