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Verona -the quintessential Italian city! Imagine clean streets lined with rows of buildings varying in shades of yellow, orange, and beige with cast iron porch railings covered in green ivy. The Italian Alps line the background, and scenic bridges tower over rushing, clear blue water. I'm so glad I got to visit this gem of a city! Our day started with hot chocolate and cappuccinos, and quickly moved onto exploring. We went into Verona's Arena (like a miniature Colosseum) where we got a 360 panoramic view of Verona. We noticed there was a rusty train car in the center of the main piazza, and we went to investigate. We found out it was the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Italian Jews that were sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau. The rusty train car was one of the actual trains cars used to transport Jews to the concentration camp. We were fortunate enough to get the opportunity to go inside, and reflect on the events that took place 70 years ago. It was a humbling and emotional experience to stand where hundreds of Jews were crammed in and shipped off to labor and extermination camps. I'll be making a trip to Auschwitz-Birkenau within the next month and a half which will be even more powerful.
After our moving experience in the train car, we made our way to Casa di Giulietta (House of Juliet). On our way, we stopped at a gelateria for some gelato (you can never pass up that opportunity!) As you probably already know, William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet takes place in Verona, Italy. Interestingly, there is no record of Shakespeare ever leaving England, yet he described the setting in such detail. Regardless, the fictitious balcony where Romeo supposedly declared his love for Juliet is a very popular place to visit. Romeo and Juliet is one of my favorite Shakespearean tragedies, so naturally I was excited to see it. The first thing we saw was the infamous wall of love letters. We walked through the tunnel of love letters, and into the crowded area outside of Juliet's fictitious house. There was a long line in front of the bronze statue of Juliet, but we waited anyway. Legend has it, if you touch the statue's right breast, Juliet will bring you good fortune and luck with love. After taking our pictures, we took a tour of Juliet's house, and stood on her balcony. I added my letter to the Letters to Juliet, and off we went in search of lunch! We got pizza to-go, but sadly, I dropped mine down the stairs when I was only half done with it. Oh well, at least I did my good deed for the day and fed the pigeons.
We spent the rest of the day walking down all the little streets, and viewing the charming bridges. We went inside several little churches, and spent a good amount of time resting our feet in a large piazza. We had an early dinner by Italian standards (5:30pm), so we still had time to kill before our train at 9:00pm. The obvious thing to do was get gelato again! Hey, we had walked over 10 miles -we totally deserved it! Plus, I'll take advantage of any opportunity to eat some gelato! We went to a different gelateria, sat, and talked until it was time to head back.
After our moving experience in the train car, we made our way to Casa di Giulietta (House of Juliet). On our way, we stopped at a gelateria for some gelato (you can never pass up that opportunity!) As you probably already know, William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet takes place in Verona, Italy. Interestingly, there is no record of Shakespeare ever leaving England, yet he described the setting in such detail. Regardless, the fictitious balcony where Romeo supposedly declared his love for Juliet is a very popular place to visit. Romeo and Juliet is one of my favorite Shakespearean tragedies, so naturally I was excited to see it. The first thing we saw was the infamous wall of love letters. We walked through the tunnel of love letters, and into the crowded area outside of Juliet's fictitious house. There was a long line in front of the bronze statue of Juliet, but we waited anyway. Legend has it, if you touch the statue's right breast, Juliet will bring you good fortune and luck with love. After taking our pictures, we took a tour of Juliet's house, and stood on her balcony. I added my letter to the Letters to Juliet, and off we went in search of lunch! We got pizza to-go, but sadly, I dropped mine down the stairs when I was only half done with it. Oh well, at least I did my good deed for the day and fed the pigeons.
We spent the rest of the day walking down all the little streets, and viewing the charming bridges. We went inside several little churches, and spent a good amount of time resting our feet in a large piazza. We had an early dinner by Italian standards (5:30pm), so we still had time to kill before our train at 9:00pm. The obvious thing to do was get gelato again! Hey, we had walked over 10 miles -we totally deserved it! Plus, I'll take advantage of any opportunity to eat some gelato! We went to a different gelateria, sat, and talked until it was time to head back.