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Published: September 8th 2018
Venice with black snake shaped gondolas gliding through the canals had imprinted itself in my childhood memories. It is an expensive and congested city. A friend suggested staying in Verona and commuting to Venice which is hardly two hours by train. I got super cheap tickets (40 GBP via Ryanair from London to Verona) and took the early morning (3:30am) bus to Golders Green and another bus to London Standstad airport. The airport security was over crowded.I reached the Airbnb, dropped my bag and was ready to explore Verona.
Unlike bleak London, Verona breathed fresh air, broad roads and greenery. It reminded me of delicious chocolates especially the little, exquisite pastries in the local bakeries which looked delightful and tasted even better.
My first visit was to San Zeno church, the patron saint of Verona. He was born in Africa and converted the city of Verona to Christianity. The walk by the river, Adige was pretty with the bridges and castle in the backdrop adding to the beauty of the Italian city.
I walked to the city center and visited Juliet's balcony, a lovely town house (Casa di Giulietta) where she supposedly lived and inspired Shakespeare to write his famous play, "Romeo and Juliet". The walls in the little courtyard were scribbled with notes of love and this was indeed the place of aspiring lovers or people in love.
The Roman arena was just massive. It is used to organise opera and music concerts in summer. People from all over the world throng the endless rows of chairs that have replaced the stone benches inside the arena to give a magnificent, tiered view. It used to house 30,000 people but now house 15,000 because of security reasons. There
are VIP( Very Important Person) seats in the middle of the arena and closer to the stage. It must be a very pleasant evening under the blue skies, watching world class opera on a long summer evening! I would not be surprised if Shakespeare did not conjure Midsummer Night Dreams when he walked around in the beautiful city of Verona perhaps with a little excess of Italian wine in his head.
My Airbnb hostess recommended a lunch of spaghetti and a house white wine at Caffe Monte Baldo (since 1909). The spaghetti with garlic sauce was simple and tasty. The tomatoes were small, unevenly shaped and yummy. Italian wine was exquisite. After this, I vowed to restrict myself only to lager in London pubs.
At a local gellato shop, a delightful combination of mango and pepper ice cream was titillating. Refreshed, I entered the Museo di Castelvecchio. Indeed, the variety and stock of armours and helmets that the erstwhile Knights used to wear left me spell bound. Not much jewelry. Maybe they were being kept in safe deposit or the museum was meant only for men.
I paid 1 Euro to take the lift up the Torre
de Lambertii to view the vast expanse of the city and the mountains surrounding it. My legs were calling it a day but I had so much to do! I had a hot bath and slept under a very fancy bulb. ( I liked it so much that I later bought it for my house)
It was an early start to Venice for my 11am walking tour. I reached on time but was lost in the city. I walked in circles and seem to reach the same 'square with little water fountain'. Lonely planet had pleasantly mentioned that everyone gets lost in Venice.
Google map was hopeless. The names of roads were strange. There was a British tourist who saw me aimlessly wander and trying to speak to the guide. He made sure, the tour guide stopped and I could have a word with her. My heart swelled with gratitude.
Fish shaped Venice had thousands of small bridges and canals between buildings. Thankfully, the place was hardly fishy. Narrow, long gondolas glided about. I ate a tasty pizza and a big sandwich with loads of fresh vegetables. Who can resist another gellato (lemon sorbet) in the hot weather? I bought it from the local supermarket and ate it on a bench in the little square; enjoying the sun and observing the children play at the little fountain.
During medieval times, palace of Dodge was administrative node of the city. It was full of impressive and massive ceiling to ceiling paintings from the gospel to impress the simple public. It even had a dungeon. It was a spectacular and ornate building, next to the equally impressive,San Marco basilica with the plazza San Marco, the only true 'square' in this conglomeration of islands. It was overflowing with tourists of all nationalities.
In the swing of things, I pottered around and bought pretty Murano glass pendants from the Rialto
market. The walking tour guide explained that Venice actually developed because people from mainland migrated here for fear of invasion from German tribes. It was a mud island with nothing. It prospered because of trade and when trade declined, it turned its eyes to tourism. Venice has more tourists than residents. The major industry is glass and because of the danger of fire from foundries, it was moved to Murano island.
The city was devastated during plague and much of the land was actually a cemetery.
The Austrians who ruled the city developed the modern water system which exists to this day. A few families were enjoying a game of ball on a Sunday afternoon. Fathers seemed very involved with bringing up children in Italy. The last stop was the Jewish ghetto from where the word ghetto originated. It was an area in Venice where the Jews were compelled to live by the Venetian republic. The reason was that Jews were money lenders and both the gates were closed at night and guarded by the republic.
We finished the tour at a fondamenta which is the name given to any road by the side of the canal. I enjoyed an apertif of spritz and some nibbles (small pieces of bread with unique, tasty
toppings) and watched life literary glide by.The train back, bath and sleep routine. A very satisfying experience.
The next morning in Padua, I decided to have breakfast the Italian way. I boldly spotted the famous bakery shop that I had looked up previously next to a church and ordered a Cappucino and a pastry. I stood there and drank my morning coffee casually like the locals. When you stand and eat, you save 1.50 Euro on service charges.
The coffee was delicious and pastry large and fresh. I ate three of them 😊. In Padua, there were Indian toilets which was an unexpected discovery.
I walked up to San Antonia basilica and stood in the queue to see the relics. Actually, my stomach churned looking at the jaws, tongues and other human organs which were all fancifully preserved. The type of church called basilica always has the relics of some saints. There was Sunday mass going on and the basilica was chockablock.
It was hot. Next to San Antonia basilica was an amazingly cool place. It is the world's oldest academic botanical garden which is still in its original location. A UNESCO heritage.
The entrance fee of 12 Euro was worth it. The old Gingko tree was spectacular. The funny tidbits of information for the young and old were amusing. There were green houses showcasing the vegetation of temperate, desert and tropical climates. It was simple and nice, very much unlike the sophisticated green houses in Singapore. Being attached to the University of Padua since 1553, students still study botany in this garden. A young student was giving me a demonstration.I learnt from a school student that the soil in cities is less diverse as compared to forests. Therefore,
the soil of the cities had fewer species of large numbers while the forest had more diverse species of fewer numbers.I stopped by a local bakery to enjoy some more pastries and took for my Airbnb hostess. That evening was pizza dinner with spritz. I still think the best pizza I had was in Milan and Rome. Pizza is not the dish at Verona. Their gnocchi, which is dumpling filled with cheese was filling but too bland for my taste buds.
After a night of good sleep, resting my tired feet, I was up again to catch the airport shuttle to Verona airport and back to London. Ryanair was swayed very badly that we joked that the pilot must be new or drunk. Never had I experienced such an awful landing.
It was a lovely and smooth trip. All the three cities were pretty with character. Being small cities, they did not need to be very cosmopolitan and treasured whatever they have with a homely feel. The tentacles of Christianity seem very strong as the places are flooded with churches. The love of life, good food and drinks was very welcoming along with the gorgeous weather. Nothing beats
the relaxing evening with a glass of spritz and nibbles by the canal, watching the sunset- essence of a true Italian way of life.
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Magnificent is right
A master piece.