Day 8 – Verona, Italy

We hit the cobblestone in Venice in the early hours. St. Mark’s Square was relatively empty and it was raining. I think the majority of my travel photos over the years show me in rain gear. I still was not able to get into St. Mark’s Cathedral (last visit it was closed, the day before on this visit the line was insane and this morning it was closed.) Guess it’s always good to save something for the next visit. 

We arrived in Verona early afternoon and immediately headed out to explore the Old Town.  I have always wanted to see an opera in Verona’s arena, but on this trip, I was 1 day too early. Inside the arena, workers were busily prepping the stage for tomorrow’s performance (a preview of all the season’s shows). The lighting, sound, film and stage work that was being installed for the evening’s dress rehearsal was elaborate. I asked if we could watch rehearsals, but got turned down. The season officially starts June 14^th.

Back on the streets, we hit up all the historical spots. I enjoyed the pedestrians streets that opened up into large piazzas. The most entertaining was going into Juliet’s courtyard to see her balcony. Tourists were crammed into this little courtyard just to see the balcony and rub the boobs on the bronze statue of Juliette. People were signing the walls with love letters, leaving locks of love on the gate as well as depositing letters in Julliette’s mailbox. It was odd that so many people thought this was the actual courtyard of a fictional character, or maybe they all just want to feel a little romance. A tour guide in 1970 declared the balcony as Juliette’s as a way to get more tourist dollars. The idea exploded and now people flock there to see her courtyard and famous balcony. I am currently reading the novel, “Inferno” by Dan Brown, so I found more enjoyment in reading about the statue of Dante in the nearby piazza. BTW, that book is in EVERY window in EVERY city in Italy.

It had been a very full day and I just wanted to have a simple dinner. There was a market a few doors down from the B&B. We got a roasted chicken, risotto balls, pesto with olives pasta, 2 diet cokes and some biscotti all for 11 euro. Best dinner ever!