Lessons from Venice: Day 2

Sunday was really our only free day during our weeklong stay in Venice, so mom and I decided to take the train to Verona.  Catching a train in Italy was much easier than I thought and the hour long ride was pretty enjoyable.  When we arrived at Verona Porta Nuova we were faced with the challenge of buying a bus ticket and a Verona pass so we could set off on our sightseeing expedition.  Armed with my trusty Rick Steves' guidebook I was sure we could find the tourist information center and kill two birds with one stone. As you may have already guessed from my Day 1 lesson, my independence got the better of me and some twenty or thirty minutes later (yes, after asking for help) we learned that there was no longer a TI in the train station and that we could buy our bus ticket at the tabacchi.  Oy!

Self portrait taken on the train to Verona

We made it to Verona!

The inspiration for the side trip to Verona came from watching Letters to Juliet...and reading Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet when I was a ninth grader.  It is a cute little city that is rich with history, a great roman amphitheater, and lovely piazzas.  Being dutiful tourists, we followed Rick Steves' walking tour through the city, made photo stops, and joined the throngs of people in the courtyard outside "Juliet's House".  I didn't feel compelled to go up on the fake, I mean famous, balcony but was content to snap a photo with Juliet's statue and vacate the confined space as soon as possible.  

Roman amphitheater where the annual Opera Festival is held each summer!

Building the stage for this year's performances!

Fountain in Piazza Bra

Declarations of love in the entrance of the courtyard near Juliet's house.

The famous balcony where Juliet stood and beneath which Romeo wooed.

Juliet, will you grant me luck in love?

Of all the stops we made on Sunday, my favorite place in the city turned out to be Piazza Erbe.  You could tell that this is where the locals hang out.  There were lots of parents watching their giggling children as they chased marbles through mazes, drew pictures, and enjoyed someone singing silly songs.  

Piazza Erbe--notice the incredible frescoes on the side of the buildings.

Close up of one of the frescoes.

Old and beautiful!

One of my favorite views.

Following an alleyway...who knows where it will take us!

We ended up running into a statue of Dante which brought back more memories of high school English class!

This staircase is beautiful and leads...absolutely nowhere!

The top of a Corinthian column.

The tomb of one of the members of a prominent Veronese family.

Another tomb, same family.

A fabulous pattern of iron work with a blue sky behind.

Classic:)

Beauty in the details...

What to do if your bridge collapses?  Retrieve the original stones from the river and rebuild!

Love locks on the bridge.

Passing an amphitheater in ruins as we hiked up to a castle on a hill.

An incredible rooftop view of Verona from high atop a hill.

A cross on the hilltop

We also took the opportunity to sample our first gelato and it was amazing!  There were lots of old doors and windows to enjoy, bridges to cross, and views to marvel at in Verona and when it was time to head back to the train station I was happy that we had made the trip but pretty darn tired from all the walking!

Okay, not a very flattering picture of me but we had to document our first official gelato tasting.  Vaniglia...yum!

A break in the old city wall.

I love the treasures hidden below the street level.  A city built on top of an ancient city.

At the train station in Verona waiting to catch our train back to Venice.

Back on the train after a long day of sightseeing!;)

In the planning stages of this excursion I had a vision of what Verona would look and feel like based on what I had observed in a movie and after today's trip I learned this:  to approach each new adventure without expectations and with a mind open to new possibilities.  Truthfully, Verona was nothing like I imagined and that's totally okay!  Usually I am an avid sightseer, but for the first time in my international travels I found myself shying away from the bustle of tourists and more open to exploring without a map or plan.  I saw beauty in unexpected things...like a bicycle leaning against a brick wall, a cross upon the hilltop, the pattern of ironwork in a fence against a blue sky, the carved door on a church, and in frescoes adorning the walls of a piazza that was full of local people going about their everyday lives.