We left
Bologna in time to make it to Verona in time for dinner. We checked into our latest AirBnB and immediately went down to its cellar to check it out. This was another location that I picked entirely for the girls and with a high fun factor. Similar to our basement in Prague, this was an old vault (with the original walls and flooring) that the landlord had converted into a living room/bathroom. The girls oohed and aahed all the way downstairs.
There was a bed (and the only bathroom) down here, but we chose to live and sleep up in the main room upstairs.
The next morning we were up and out fairly early. We only had one day planned here in Verona, and I wanted to make sure we covered it all. After looking at all of the attractions, I probably should have planned another day here - who knew?
First up, the Teatro Romano. Built in the late 1st century B.C. not much is known about the theatre and all that is left is the stairs, the remains of the stage and the ancient temple above the stairs. It was a great way to get a view of the city and see some of the ancient remains.
This is a photo of a photo. It is from the early 1900's and shows the church with its few steps up to the ground floor. All of the Teatro was still covered by dirt! See what it looks like now (below...here the church is off to the right.)
We climbed up and took in the views (which were fabulous - even if the day was not).
Back outside we toured the church.
The Church of San Siro e Libera was founded in the 10th century and still stands among the ruins.
Not sure if they were just having fun or were super glad to be done touring old stuff...
We decided to head into old town and crossed the Ponte Pietra as it was the closest
and has the distinction of being the oldest bridge in Verona (built in 100 B.C.) Part of the bridge was blown up by retreating troops in 1957 but it was rebuilt using all of the original materials.
We went directly to the Duomo and walked around a bit. Honestly, I was with the girls at this point and was over Duomo's. We only spent a few minutes wandering through but since they are all gorgeous it starts to become normal after awhile. I can't wait to see my girls reactions to churches in the US after having seen some of the most beautiful in the world.
Next door we popped into the Sant'Anastasia. Built in 14th century gothic style the church has some gorgeous frescoes and detailing but it was super dark inside and pictures were impossible so all I really have is the exterior.
Back outside we decided to stop fors an early lunch. We were in the main market square, Piazza delle Erbe - and it was Stinkerbell's turn to pick lunch so we sat at this quaint little pasta place admiring the tourists and loving the pizza (because we will never tire of Italian food).
Gelato for postre? But, of course.
It was time to check out the location that Verona is most famous for - Juliet's balcony. Strangely, the hall leading up to the small square where the balcony seems to be covered in scrap paper, band-aids and lots of gum. Each has something written on it commemorating the person(s) who left it and it is said that if you declare your love on the wall, it will be everlasting. We had a spare bandaid, so on the wall our girls trip to Verona was commemorated.
Sadly, when we turned the corner, we did not see the most famous balcony in the world at Casa di Giulietta but rather this...
and this...
We missed it by a day (we were there on the 5th). We still went inside and toured and I did catch some glimpses of the balcony itself...
And we touched Juliet's right breast (said to bring you luck in love) and took a photo with the master himself...
We did get to see furnishings from the day's of Romeo and Juliet and learned a lot about the real life feuding families that the play is based on.
It was getting to be late afternoon at this point so and we still had quite a bit on our list. We knew we wouldn't make it all so I made an executive decision and we headed toward Piazza Brà and the Arena di Verona. Not as old as the Teatro that we started at in the morning but still stunningly old (built in 30 A.D.) the Arena is one of the best preserved of its kind and is known for it's opera performances that are still held there to this day. Back in the day, 30,000 spectators that had traveled from far and wide would cram into the arena to watch the spectacular fights that would wage on the dirt floor. Now, it is mostly a concert arena hosting the likes of Paul McCartney, Adele, Pearl Jam, Sting and so many others.
Brà
Nope - not Rome but I can understand the confusion. (BTW - this one is older)
Pano.
Those are some high steps!
After playing around for a bit we decided to do what we always do when there is a chance - lock ourselves onto the nearest bridge. I had seen the locks as we were crossing over in the morning so we picked a hot pink lock, decided on our name and Stinkerbell had the honor of locking us up. MadHatter then threw away the key and we called it a day in Verona.
We thought that would be the end of our adventure. We were to head home early the next morning so that we could beat the traffic and have some rest time before school the next day. It was just not to be.
As we were heading out of town the next morning, I stopped at the gas station to fill up. It was an unattended station and with the machines, only writing in Italian, I did my best to understand what they were requiring of me. Credit card - in. Amount needed - full. Pump number? Number of the the station? Number? I was at pump 3 so I put that in and then fueled and left with my receipt. On our way, I noticed that the car was acting sluggish. Chugging. I pulled into the nearest gas station where I asked the attendant in my Spanish (it's close, right?) if I had indeed put Diesel in my car. He shook his head sadly - nope, I had put Benzina in it. Shut engine off. Call the tow truck. Call B to call the tow truck as my phone was sending me to the wrong ADAC (think AAA in Europe). Wait 2 hours. Get picked up by the tow truck and try to communicate in Spanish/Italian. Get loaded onto tow truck - literally. Kids got to sit in the cab with the driver - I got to sit in driver's seat of my car ON the flatbed. Think about how strange this is that this is the way you die. Drive with a crazy Italian tow truck driver in the pouring down rain for 30 km (18 miles) and drop the car at a service station. Understand that it is Sunday and no work will be done until morning. Have tow truck driver squeeze you in the cab with the kids, while your one suitcase he allows is strapped to the bed of the truck, being poured on, as he drops you at a hotel nearby. Check-in and order lunch with a bottle of wine. Spend the next 24 hours in a hotel until you can pick up the car. Pick up car 26 hours after you started yesterday and head home. Luckily, the engine flushed and all was ok (except the pocketbook).
The best part though - we got to drive through the Dolomites during the first snows of the year. It was simply stunning...
