After our opera pseudo-fail, pseudo-win, we DEFINITELY made up for it Monday evening. Stevie Wonder played at the Arena amphitheatre, and we, among others, were able to sit outside of it and listen to the whole thing. He was GREAT.
We arrived in fair Verona Monday afternoon, and settled into our place. First we went to St. Fermo church. It had a lower-level chapel that was beautifully kept; its style was nothing I had seen before: the paintings almost Aztec-like. Then we headed to Piazza Erbe, to take in the market, the bell tower, and Juliet’s house. It was super fun and cheesy to see the famous balcony, and also tour the rest of the house. It’s hands-down the busiest place in all of Verona. After that we made our way to Piazza Bra, got some picnic items, and settled in the little park by the Arena to people watch the concert-goers. Once it started we moved closer and sat at the steps of the venue. It was a fantastic night.
Tuesday we started our day at the Roman Theatre and archaeology museum; I would say this was the highlight of Verona for me (besides Mr. Wonder). There are still some shows that go on there, and the old statues, tombs, frescoes, bronze figures, all continue to fascinate. The views of the city were spectacular there as well, as it’s on the periphery of the old town. After that we went to the Duomo, a red- and white-striped church. Trendy, no? Stripes are the new solids. This church also had two smaller churches attached, one with a baptistery. Also beautiful, and also a lot cooler, temperature-wise, than anywhere else in the city. Our last church stop was St. Anastasia. It’s officially hard for me to keep track of all the churches I’ve seen over the past three years! Some really stand out for me, but three in one city is hard to distinguish. Again, very stunning. It’s hard to imagine all the work, money, and time that go into creating these masterpieces. We headed back to Piazza Erbe to check out the market again, then again back to Piazza Bra, to check out the Arena during the day. After having been inside for the opera event, however, seeing it without the crowds of people and the anticipation of a performance was a bit lack-lustre. After breaking at our little park spot, we went to Juliet’s tomb – another cold retreat – and the Radio Museum. This museum housed over 700 old radios! It was pretty neat to see.
Just after grabbing food last night, we decided to make it a relatively early night, as today we had to be up early, moving on to Cinque Terre. We got back to our place just in time. We had another big rain storm. It must be following us, and nicely, it’s taking a bit of the heat and humidity away too. We sat on the back porch to watch it.
I would like to thank Italy for all its water fountains and benches thus far, that have kept us hydrated and offered us resting places and lunch spots. The people-watching goes without saying. Verona had a very relaxed and friendly vibe to it, and it was a nice escape from the overflow in Venice.
Hope all is well with everyone and that the summer is treating you as it should! xo
We arrived in fair Verona Monday afternoon, and settled into our place. First we went to St. Fermo church. It had a lower-level chapel that was beautifully kept; its style was nothing I had seen before: the paintings almost Aztec-like. Then we headed to Piazza Erbe, to take in the market, the bell tower, and Juliet’s house. It was super fun and cheesy to see the famous balcony, and also tour the rest of the house. It’s hands-down the busiest place in all of Verona. After that we made our way to Piazza Bra, got some picnic items, and settled in the little park by the Arena to people watch the concert-goers. Once it started we moved closer and sat at the steps of the venue. It was a fantastic night.
Tuesday we started our day at the Roman Theatre and archaeology museum; I would say this was the highlight of Verona for me (besides Mr. Wonder). There are still some shows that go on there, and the old statues, tombs, frescoes, bronze figures, all continue to fascinate. The views of the city were spectacular there as well, as it’s on the periphery of the old town. After that we went to the Duomo, a red- and white-striped church. Trendy, no? Stripes are the new solids. This church also had two smaller churches attached, one with a baptistery. Also beautiful, and also a lot cooler, temperature-wise, than anywhere else in the city. Our last church stop was St. Anastasia. It’s officially hard for me to keep track of all the churches I’ve seen over the past three years! Some really stand out for me, but three in one city is hard to distinguish. Again, very stunning. It’s hard to imagine all the work, money, and time that go into creating these masterpieces. We headed back to Piazza Erbe to check out the market again, then again back to Piazza Bra, to check out the Arena during the day. After having been inside for the opera event, however, seeing it without the crowds of people and the anticipation of a performance was a bit lack-lustre. After breaking at our little park spot, we went to Juliet’s tomb – another cold retreat – and the Radio Museum. This museum housed over 700 old radios! It was pretty neat to see.
Just after grabbing food last night, we decided to make it a relatively early night, as today we had to be up early, moving on to Cinque Terre. We got back to our place just in time. We had another big rain storm. It must be following us, and nicely, it’s taking a bit of the heat and humidity away too. We sat on the back porch to watch it.
I would like to thank Italy for all its water fountains and benches thus far, that have kept us hydrated and offered us resting places and lunch spots. The people-watching goes without saying. Verona had a very relaxed and friendly vibe to it, and it was a nice escape from the overflow in Venice.
Hope all is well with everyone and that the summer is treating you as it should! xo
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