In Love with Verona

The coffee maker was set up and ready for the early risers in the group.  That would be Rick and Emmett, thrilled when coffee is available early.  Breakfast at the B&B was wonderful.  House made yogurt, cereals, fruit, cornetti, rolls, even a strawberry cake.  Plus, Simone made a fruit concoction in his juicer, with a little ginger, which was great, and very healthy, he said.  He made stove-top Italian coffee for anyone who might like it - and I loved it!

One big advantage to staying in a B&B, at least a good one like Villa Beatrice, is the resources and expertise the hosts provide.  Simone plotted out the exact route for us to drive into Verona, told us where to find free parking, and gave us the card of a really good restaurant in town for lunch.

We headed in about 10, and truly, it was only 10 minutes away.  Free parking was a little tricky at this hour, but with Il Padrino at the wheel, a spot was procured.

Verona is a nice, small city, most famous as the fictional home of Juliet of Romeo and Juliet fame.  We wanted to see her home, of course, but there were a few other places of interest too.

As we got close to the old part of town, we could see remnants of the Roman theater, which was closed for renovation, unfortunately. 

The Roman theater in Verona

We crossed the Adige River over an old Roman bridge.

Colorful houses along the river in Verona                  

Looking across the river to the dome of St. Giorgio's in Verona

The big churches,  the Roman arena and the house of Juliet all charged an admission fee, so we bought a Verona Card at our first stop hoping it would pay for itself during the day.

Our first stop was The Church of Sant'Anastasia.  It's the largest church in Verona.  Near the entrance, there were two holy water fonts balanced on hunchbacked statues.  Hunchbacks were thought to be lucky when these were sculpted in the late 15th century.

Our favorite holy water font in all of Italy

Great side altar at one of the churches in Verona

The vaulted ceiling of the Church of Sant'Anastasia

Ruins of the Roman temple under the Duomo

Which church is this?

OK, so I'm starting to get a little confused about which church is which.  We visited both the Church of Sant'Anastasia and the Duomo of Verona.  Both are beautiful and both are full of art treasures.  As I look at the pictures now, I can't say for sure where some of the photos were taken.  But, let me tell you, they were both great.

Next we visited the home of Juliet.  In addition to the balcony, there was a whole three-story house to tour, a reproduction of what a home would have been like in the time of Romeo and Juliet.

On Juliet's balcony, waiting to be serenaded

Love locks on a gate in the courtyard of Juliet's house

Laurie ensures a lucky love life by rubbing the breast of Juliet

The courtyard was packed with tourists and tour groups.  We got in without trouble, but by the time we were ready to leave it was jammed with people.

We had lunch at Osteria da Ugo, the restaurant our host Simone had recommended.  He told us that authentic local cuisine was often made with donkey or horse meat, and we would probably see both on the menus of the better restaurants in town.  There were lots of other choices on the menu too, but Laurie decided to try the ragu of cavallo (horse) over pasta.  Emmett and I had a taste of it, and it was very good.  Rick couldn't bring himself to try it though, after spending his life around horses.  Emmett and I ordered a pasta dish with shaved truffles that was great, and Rick had pasta dish with duck that was also great.

After lunch we walked over to the Roman amphitheater.  From the outside it was amazing.

The 1st century Roman arena

Inside, because it's still used for concerts and the yearly opera festival, the modern seats and rebuilt bleachers take away from the romance of the original building.

Modern seating at the Roman arena



From the arena we walked to the Piazza Bra nearby, where market booths were selling food and other local products.  We bought some cheese and white asparagus for dinner.

On the way back to the car we walked through a nice shopping area and found the supermercato where we picked up supplies to make dinner at the house. 

We made our way back up into the hills to our B&B, and had a good dinner of pasta, asparagus, bread and wine.  Some strawberry cake for dessert too.  The lights of Verona twinkled in the distance.