Romeo, Romeo
However, I needn’t have worried! Arriving at our beautiful hotel, the Palazzo Victoria (which just has to be the best hotel in Verona – I highly recommend it), we quickly unpacked and headed off to the main square, the Piazza Bra which is dominated by the magnificent open air Roman arena which was to host the reason for our trip – the opera Turandot by Puccini. The square is bordered by al fresco cafes and restaurants and we quickly found a nice spot and settled in to people-watch helped by a glass or three of Prosecco. A lovely lazy Italian dinner followed and we returned to the hotel for a nightcap.
The following day we walked, walked and walked some more, revisiting the Piazza Bra, and the other main square, the Piazza delle Erbe, for our refreshment stops. Verona is a very beautiful, very small city, and it is very easy to cover on foot. There are numerous museums and churches which we either quickly ticked off or bypassed (our main interests are wandering around looking at the old architecture, people watching and above mentioned frequent refreshment stops). We then headed to the obligatory landmark - Juliet’s House and the balcony made famous in Romeo and Juliet. We duly joined the large crowd and took photos, added our names to the graffiti in the archway (in exchange for the promise of eternal love!) and bought a few trinkets in the attached gift shop. Cheesy maybe, but something that has to be seen when in Verona!
On Friday evening we booked a table at Osteria La Fontanina, a one Michelin star restaurant with great reviews just across the river. Food was good, though not exceptional, and the restaurant itself was very quirky and seating was a bit cramped, the interior resembling more an antique shop which was quite a novel experience! I’m glad we ate there, but not sure I would go back a second time.
Having taught myself Italian this year, I was keen to try it out, and even though I say so myself I did very well. As well as the usual chit chat and ordering meals etc. I managed to ask an optician to tighten my sunglasses, ask directions a few times, and order “off-menu”, even though we didn’t really need any of these, but it was good practice and such a great feeling when I was complimented. I have made a pledge to visit Italy at least once a year from now on.
On Saturday we decided to go the train station and take a train somewhere. We did think about a day trip to Venice (which is easy to do from Verona), but the next train was not due for over an hour and we were in Venice last year, so we took the next train to Peschiera del Garda on Lake Garda, just a 20 minute ride. A pleasant enough town, but quite touristy and child-oriented as it’s very close to the Gardaland theme park. Had we had more time we would have gone further north, maybe to Sirmione, Malcesine or Limone. We will do the lakes properly on another trip I’m sure!
Back on the train to Verona the heavens opened! The weather had been perfect up till then, so this was a real concern, as the highlight of our trip, the open air opera, was due to start at 9pm that evening. We changed and went for dinner, uncertain as to whether the performance would go ahead, experiencing feelings of optimism one minute when it appeared to brighten up, and then feeling really down the next when the rain got heavier. However, the rain stopped completely about 9.45pm, the arena staff were confident that was it, quickly dried everything off and it went ahead just after 10pm. And it was meraviglioso! We had fantastic seats in the stalls and the experience was simply wonderful.
All in all another wonderful trip. I am continuing my Italian studies, and have already started planning next year’s trip to Sicily – watch this space!
