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Published: October 2nd 2023
Verona Arena at night
Italian opera in progressRomantic Verona and lake Garda
-Piprey on wheel
Romantic Italy '
Un bel di Vedremo' is a famous song of
Madame Butterfly opera where the Japanese wife pines for her American navy husband to come back to her in Nagasaki. Imagine, watching a spectacular opera in a
1000-year-old arena which today seats
16,000 people; from where the mighty Romans once watched bloody sports!
Such song, music, food and social life is inherent in Italian culture, making it stand out rather flamboyantly against the sober character of Northern Europe.
Back to present world, all
London airports had an airport traffic control failure. Hence, over 1900 flights were cancelled over 2 days. Fortunately, the backlog got cleared by the time my
Lufthansa flight took off to Munich. From Munich to Verona it was
Air Dolomite which was turbulent. My co-passenger was an Italian scientist returning from Amsterdam. She was so nice that she shared her number in case I needed any help as I was reaching very late in Verona.
Verona At Verona airport, there was
no uber or radio taxi. I took public bus 199 from airport to Porto Nuovo Train station and another bus 93 to Siros Hotel. It was quite a
happy adventure getting into the hotel. I picked up the keys from a
secret spot and did self check-in into
a
bright orange building with pots of flowers and statue in the
odd hours of the night. (At the main bus stop, a young man was kind enough to warn me that night was not so safe in Verona) I slept well and enjoyed famously sweet Italian breakfast of yummy pistachio croissant, fresh strawberries, melon and grapes with English tea. I filled my water bottle with cold water and shifted my stuff to a double room. The
cappuccino was
par excellence.
Energised like in Star Trek, I took bus to piazza bra (around Verona Arena). Chatted with a black solo traveller from France and some my tips to see Verona like the arms museum by the river Adige.
Italian buses can be peculiar. Verona buses do not stop at designated bus stops and you will need not 6th but 7th sense to know where they really do!
Following the bus stop mix, my friend from Munich sweetly reminded me that there was no rush and I was on holiday 😊 We caught up with news over some freshly cooked fish, salads and spritzol. Visited
some fine churches, walked by the
river Adige, Juliet's balcony, Romeo's house and the squares among others. The
river was full because of good rains. After
some wonderful Lugana white wine and the finest tapas of creamy salad on a piece of bread with a tasty baby tomato for 2.50 Euro each, we called it a day.
Next morning, we discovered a
fresh farmers market near the hotel.
I bought these delicious, red/orange/yellow small tomatoes, grapes and plums- like sunshine in my picnic bag.
The free guided walking tour of the Verona introduced us to stories of the various merchant families and their contributions to the city including Romeos' house.
We were doing
very poor time keeping as all good restaurants closed in Italy by 3pm and we missed lunch. Choosing between shopping and eating was hard 😉
Verona Arena is like a mini stadium of the modern world. In summer, it hosts world famous operas.
In the evening, we got ready for a magnificent opera in the Verona arena. The sky turned from light blue to electric blue. Lights came up on the stage and sparkled like diamonds with moon in the sky. Most people were well dressed men and looked straight from Hollywood.
The
set of Nagasaki was elaborate. I was reading a book called
Patriots by
Pearl.S.Buck, set in Nagasaki and the set of a beautiful harbour in the
Opera, helped me to relate to it.
Music touched your heart and the atmosphere electric. There were two boards with English translation, but they were at such odd places that you had to choose between reading it or seeing the action 😞
At the end of the opera, I was looking at the watch.
Invariably, we did merry go round with the bus stops. Finally, I followed Google map to stand at a bus stop which did not have the bus number on it's list.
6 others from the Opera joined us at this bus stop. We had a long walk to the hotel if the bus did not turn
up, but it did. That's the magic of a beautiful, musical evening.
Peschiera We checked out from the lovely hotel and took a train to the small town of
Peschiera by the Lake Garda. My friend was keen to drive an unlicensed motorboat. We got one for 2 hours for 90 Euro.
She sailed through the middle of the lake over the waves to
Sirmione and then to
Lazise, Movieland and
Gardaland like a triangle before returning to Peschiera. This time, I did not want to miss lunch and thankfully had steamed fish with vegetables and a lovely view of the lake. A former " Dhobi ghat", now with a pretty bridge going to the Peschiera railway station.
It was like having lunch right by river Thames or by the Singapore river. Elegant and classic.
After my friend left for Munich, I checked into the hostel and went for a swim in the lake. The
water tasted sweet and temperature so
pleasant. The
lakebed was full of pebbles which hurt a bit. Unlike the sea, you had to constantly move to stay afloat.
It was fascinating to swim among ducks and swans as it was a freshwater lake. There was
no fear of lurking sharks!
With your head bobbing out of the water, a swan approaching you with its wings raised can be scary.
Indeed, I watched a little boy racing into the land when a swan approached him from the water!
My
locker key in my necklace went missing in the lake. It was futile to search in the
180 km long emerald water lake. Painstakingly, I walked on the hard pebbles to the changing room. Imagine the ordeal of breaking the lock , should a locksmith be available in this late afternoon. While changing, I felt a small solid thing in my swim wear. My key! Yippey!
Some of the recommended restaurants were as follows:
• La Plume - excellent location
• L'Osteria - busy and centrally located
• Raffilu - elegant and by the quay ("Dobhi ghat")
I had another lovely pasta with mushroom and bacon accompanied by a Lugana glass wine of 4.50 Euro. A bottle of still water cost 3.50 Euro. There is no concept of tap water like in United Kingdom.
Restaurants add a service charge of 2.50 Euro per person which was a bit strange. I enjoyed a heavenly
Lazise creamery gelato of green pistachio and cream apricot as I watched the Sun whimsically paint the sky pink and red. The
hostel room housed 16 women in a large room. Amazingly, there was a rule for silence from 11.30pm to 7.30am. I don't think I ever slept
so soundly in any hostel.
Malcesine After a
sad, bare minimum breakfast with American coffee at the hostel, I lost some sweat when I tried to book a return from
Peschiera to Malcesine by public bus at a vending machine at Peschiera railway station. The journey of 1 hour 41 mins cost
5.30 Euro one way. The English passengers behind me were kindly encouraging and were most grateful that I showed them how to book a return ticket 😉
It was a
scenic bus ride by the Lake Garda to the base of the
Monte Blado. The cable car took flight and climbed about 2000 ms high for 25 Euro (+2 Euro charge extra for over-the-counter ticket delivery).
We floated into clouds which was great except we could not see much when we were on top of the mountain!
Monte Blado I followed a trail. Quite a few people were waiting to
paraglide when the weather cleared. Saw
cows with bells and an
Alpaca. Its head resembled a little boy with golden hair with mushroom cut and large almond shaped brown eyes. Quite
popular with German tourists. Coming down the cable, the mist cleared and the lake looked inviting in the hot weather.
Back in hostel, I splashed into the water.
Chased the ducks and
smiled at 6 months old who gleefully floated in the water, probably for the first
time in his life. There were
tiny, green fishes too.
I enjoyed dessert of Italian sweet grapes, baby tomatoes and plums as I relaxed in the hostel lobby. I planned to visit Lazise before heading to Verona airport.
Lasize I caught the 8.19 am bus to the picturesque seaside town of
Lazise. The roadside cafes were filling up with hungry tourists. I bought a small slice of pizza and then headed back to Verona airport via Peschiera.
The ducks and swans were very social here just like the Italian people.
Munich A much more peaceful, aeroplane journey from Verona to Munich that I dozed off a bit and in the middle of my sleep, when I opened my eyes,
I saw the beautiful snow laden Alps with such a pretty little green city in the valley. The captain announced it was Innsbruck. Dearest me!
At Munich airport, I bought a full day pass for 13.80 Euro in German and took train S1 or S8 to Marienplatz to meet my friend and her husband.
She informed me that that day she helped at least 7 other tourists to get tickets from Deutsche Bahn (DB) vending machine in German. Her husband worked in DB and was achieving
free German literacy for tourists 😊
The
Munich farmers market had cute figures on the water fountains. We
watched the century old musical Rathouse, Munich
It has a musical clock which rotates with stories of royalty, duels etc at 5pm in summer clock dancing on the
Rathaus (official building of Munich). When I said in English it kind of meant the
house of rats, she said it was indeed something like that :-) We enjoyed a
traditional Bavarian dinner of huge pork portions, coleslaw and a "small" glass of beer. She refused my offer to pay for dinner, instead presented me some
exquisite German chocolates. Inviting them for a visit to London, I headed off to Munich airport to fly back to London Heathrow.
Visiting three countries on the same day was hectic. London was facing a heatwave again and the houses are just not made for warm weather.
A land where beautiful wine is probably cheaper than water,
if you want romance in everyday life, wait no more.
Visit Italy!
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