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Published: March 18th 2009
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No, we haven't gone back to Italy...I simply realized I didn't do the Verona blog. A gross oversight, since that was one of our favorite days in Italy! I nearly didn't go to Verona, because that was the morning that my hip/piriformous/sciatia issues really made themselves known. I was in a lot of pain, and I knew that if I stayed home there would be enough room in one car for everyone. However, listening to that voice inside my head that said, "when will you ever get the chance to see Verona Italy again", I decided to go. So, we loaded up two cars...left Rudy home to work, and hit the road.
We made it to Verona easily, but struggled with the driving a bit, once we arrived. We were following my cousin, Mary, a seasoned Italian driver, but that didn't seem to make much difference. Some horns honked, we might have gone against traffic...who knows? Everyone drives crazy in Italy, so it just made us fit in a little better.
Walking in to the main area of Verona is truly like walking into another world. We walked under an arch and immediately in front of us was Arena
di Verona, an ancient coliseum still being used for performances today. It was past lunch time, and the kids hadn't eaten, so we found a cafeteria type restaurant and fed the flock...with pizza and pasta, of course. Finding restrooms on the fly in Italy isn't easy, public restrooms are quite "unpredictable" and you typically have to pay for them. However, the restaurant had restrooms, so we thought we better get everyone taken care of there. Once again, it was good that we had an Italian speaking person with us. We had to ask for a token from the cashier, make our way to the basement and then pop the token into a machine that allowed us entry to an incredibly stinky restroom. We had some "resistors" in the bunch, but when we explained that this would probably be the nicest restroom stop, Sig..I mean, 'the resistor" realized she better plug her nose and make it quick.
We made our way over to the coliseum and were overwhelmed with the size and just the mass of rock in this one place...stone that wasn't moved there with modern equipment, of course. I was unable to climb, so Jeff and Mary headed
The Crust Doesn't Count!
He ate the "hole" thing! off to the top with the kids, while I stood in the center of the arena. Once they reached the top, I spoke in normal voice to see if they could hear me...yep, clear as a bell. One of the most fun parts of being in the arena was that there was an American woman singing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow", just for fun. She had a beautiful voice and the acoustics were amazing. She was rewarded with a smattering of applause from our fellow tourists and I thought to myself, "what a crazy small world that we're in an ancient Italian coliseum listening to a classic American song".
Since we were starting our visit in Verona early (early for Italians, anyway), the streets were pretty quiet and we were able to get around easily. We found a gelato place that made me realize why Italy is famous for gelato...heaven in every smooth, creamy mouthful of flavor. This gelato made our Venice gelato taste like something from the ice cream truck that rings through our neighborhood every Wednesday afternoon (and we thought IT was good). I can't remember the name of the place, of course, that's the downside of delayed
Arena di Verona
That's me in front of the stage. blogging and a bad memory.
Verona is a great place for shoppers. We passed storefront after storefront of beautiful leather bags and accessories and windows loaded with fashion that might be a little out of place in St. Peter (think Versace). Thigh high stiletto boots - not in public, anyway! I had wanted to buy a nice bag in Italy, however, traveling with 5 kids made it a little easier to resist the temptation of walking in to a store. In Italy, and other parts of Europe, shopping is different than the standard US mall experience. The customer doesn't help themselves to the items on the racks or shelves, the person working in the shop will assist you with that...when they're good and ready. We did find a low-key store that reminded me of a down-sized Gap. The prices were reasonable and Emma desperately wanted to "buy something in Italy". She found a fun green fabric purse and was thrilled with her big Italian purchase!
We made our way to what is rumored to be "Juliet's balcony", a popular tourist spot in Verona. You pass through an enclosed entry to the courtyard in which the walls are covered
From The Top
Arena and city beyond. with notes left by those who are looking for their love. Apparently, there are a lot of people looking for love! The phones in the photo of the "note wall" are pay information phones. You put in your coins and there is a recording about that specific sight. We didn't listen, we've heard all about the infamous Romeo and Juliet. There was also a bronze statue of Juliet in the courtyard with lines of people waiting to have their photos taken with her. We decided to watch and were shocked when person after person approached her, got into position then grabbed her bronze breast just as the photo was about to be snapped! It seems that this little routine brings the "groper" good luck. Poor Juliet...as if her story wasn't tragic enough.
We wandered some more (my favorite way to see a city), had a cappuccino and made our way to a park to drink in just a little more sunshine (working up our nerve?) before we hit the road. It was a great, relatively relaxed day and I'm glad I listened to that voice inside my head...
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