May 16, 2013 Verona, Italy

We got up early and had breakfast at the hotel and walked the block to the train station. Actually the train station is right across the canal, but you need to walk to the nearest bridge to cross over to it. We bought tickets for the fast train to Verona. Today was cool and rainy and it stayed that way all day. A bit windy too. UGH!

I somehow forgot to pack the travel book that had sites to see and maps for Venice and the day trips to Verona and Bologna. So, we were winging it. We decided to do HOHO buses in both places.

Verona has been awarded World Heritage Site status by UNESCO because of its urban structure and architecture. “So splendid was medieval Verona that its reputation alone inspired Shakespeare to set two plays here (Romeo and Juliet and The Two Gentlemen of Verona). Though its connection to the actual Capulets is tenuous at best, the so-called Juliet's House draws half a million tourists per year, many of them keen on reenacting the balcony scene.”

Since it was raining we decided to ride Line A all the way around and then decide where to stop off. (hoping the weather would improve in the meantime.) There were 2 lines and only 1 stopped near the train station, so we started with Line A. 

Here are the stops it makes:
Piazza dei Signori
Piazza Bra
Corso Porto Nuova
Giardini Pradaval
Piazza Pozza
Basilica S. Zeno
Castelvecchio
Via Diaz
Porta Borsari
Porta Leoni 

We got off at a Piazza and saw the Arena of Verona which is smaller only than the Colosseum and the Amphitheatre of Capua. The Arena of Verona was built by the Romans in the 1st century AD. As in all amphitheaters, the famous gladiator fights were held here, as too were the venationes, the hunts of fierce exotic animals. It appeared like there was a lot of renovations going on.

We saw the Torre dei Lamberti clock tower you can go to the top for great views. Since it was raining we didn’t bother.



We stopped at Ai Lamberti Caffe & Pizzeria where I ate Tortellini di Valeggio cooked with butter & sage and Greg had a seafood pasta dish.

We then went in search of Juliet’s house. We found Casa di Giulietta,  just off Via Giuseppe Mazzini, central Verona's main shopping street, is the. Despite Romeo and Juliet being fictional characters with no resemblance to Veronese nobility, romantics flock to this 14th century house to add their lovelorn pleas to the graffiti on the courtyard causeway and rub the right breast of the bronze statue of Juliet for better luck next time.



After we wandered a bit more we got on the B Line:

Via Pallone

Tomba Guilietta

Via G. Giusti

S. Stefano

Teatro Romano

Santuario Madonna di Lourdes

Duomo

Piazza Erbe

Casa Giulietta 

We toured the Church of St. Anastasia and also stopped for a photo op at Castlevecchio, which is now a museum. The Church of St. Anastasia was amazing! It is the largest church in Verona and I’d say the most beautiful. It was more like an art gallery than a place of worship.  

We stopped for Gelato of course. Then walked to the Ponte Scaligero, the Castelvecchio Bridge or Scaliger Bridge is a fortified bridge over the Adige River. The segmental arch bridge featured the world's largest span at the time of its construction. 

 

We stopped again for a gelato to tide us over until we got back to Venice for dinner. This gelato place called Savoia was quite different from all the others. It has been around since 1939. There were long lines of locals so we popped in. They had a nice dark chocolate and the banana flavor tasted like fresh frozen bananas.  

In hindsight, the HOHO bus was fine, but it ran only once every hour and most sites were walkable enough if the weather had been better.
 

 

 After our train ride we went in search of dinner close to the hotel and were coaxed into Trattoria Provoledo. Greg had diviolo pizza and I had gnocchi with smoked ham and zucchini. YUM! 

We walked around the surrounding area a bit and it soon it was time for bed.