Another lovestruck Romeo...

I am falling in love ... with Italy. Verona is the city of romance, and the setting for Shakespeare's immortal Romeo and Juliette. A typically gorgeous Italian city proved the perfect backdrop for Shakespeare, and the inspiration the great man derived from the city continues to inspire modern day travellers. Verona is another impressive feather in the cap for Italy which is really up there with the world's great travel destinations.

Verona is the last stop on my visit to Italy, and to recap from the previous journal we left off in San Marino. From the fortified city perched on a mountain top I bused it back to Rimini, and then caught a train to Bologna for an overnight stay. When visiting Italy it is recommended to stop off in this gastronomical capital if you get a chance, where Bologna has acquired world wide fame as the home of the legendary bolognese sauce. I checked into a B&B near the station, and then ventured out to a restaurant in the square. As predicted in the guidebook my meal was fabulous and I chose a scrumptuous tagliatelli bolognese. Bologna is also home to the legendary Ducati motorcycle factory, and in the Moto GP world championship held this year our very own Casey Stoner was the victorious Ducati rider and recently crowned new world champion.

From Bologna I caught another train to Venice. This world famous city manages to cope with twenty million visitors a year without sinking, and finally seeing the city in person as opposed to watching travel shows on TV is a magical experience. From the moment a traveller walks out of the train station one begins to experience another world. Yes indeed, Venice stands out as a truly extraordinary city and a unique travel destination. I caught the ferry No 1 down the grand canal to the Rialto bridge, from where it was an easy walk to a very central and highly recommended hostel.

Venice is pure magic and I am confident, dear reader, that you are already quite familiar with her charms, but I would like to add a few personal impressions gained from my visit to this marvelous city. Firstly it's true you can expect to get lost while walking through the maze like streets and canals of Venice, but as long as you keep a general sense of direction it's actually quite easy to find your way around. The famous piazza San Marco is the focal point of Venice and set in a magnificent square. The highlight is the spectacular San Marco basilica. But the joy of Venice is not just to be found exploring the square, it comes from exploring the endless alleyways that help to make this city so unforgettable. Apparently the gondoliers charge over 70 euros but that still didn't deter several tourists heading out along the grand canal.

From Venice I caught a train for the two hour journey to Verona. I met a South Korean girl on the train and we went to the superb HI hostel together. This hostel is in a 16th century villa with it's own vast garden grounds and well worth a visit. After checking in we dropped off our bags and headed out to explore the city for the afternoon. Verona is a revelation and just as gorgeous to walk around as Florence or Venice. The central plaza is very stylish, and close to the square is the fictional home of Juliette which includes her balcony and a statue of her in the courtyard garden. The house has become somewhat of a pilgrimage on the traveller's road nowadays, and legend has it that if you rub the right breast of Juliette's statue you will acquire a new lover, so we posed for the obligatory photos in a rare quiet moment before another large group arrived. If nothing else, dear reader, at least your wandering Romeo helped to keep her breast nice and shiny!

So reluctantly my first visit to Italy is drawing to a close. The impressions gained from my first visit to this wonderful country leave me almost at a loss for words. Italy showcases an incredible history stretching back 2,700 years, and the sense of style and fashion exhibited by modern day Italians consistently leaves me gobsmacked, in fact they are so stylish it's difficult not to feel overawed at times! The food is divine and the Italian cities are as beautiful as any in the world. Italy really does come close to being the complete package, although I would note that the hostel industry is not as sophisticated or developed as I expected for such a famous travel destination.

But the European adventures for your resident travel writer roll on, as I head north towards the Alps and what I anticipate to be some appreciably colder weather. It is with a heavy heart that I must bid a very fond ciao to Italy, an unforgettable travel destination that is also the birthplace of western civilisation. Tourists have been flocking to Italy for over 2,000 years so,........... basically all of you should be here now!

"What was leadership, after all, but the blind choice of one route over another and the confident pretence that the decision was based on reason?" Robert Harris, Pompeii

Top 3 Hotels/Restaurants
B&B Rota - Florence, Italy
Ostello Villa Francescatti - Verona, Italy
Trattoria Annamarie - Bologna, Italy

Top 3 Sights/Activities
Piazza San Marco - Venice, Italy
Juliette's house - Verona, Italy
Restaurant fine dining - Bologna, Italy

As I continue my travels, until next time it's signing off for now

Tom

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