There is a reason Shakespeare called it fair Verona

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I have managed to land in just the cutest of towns ... hence the title of this blog! As with anything with me though, getting here was not just a straight line. There has to be story or two just on how I got here. I am one bumbling episode after the next.

First, I was locked into the hotel. My Hotel Milano is a small hotel so there is only reception services until 20:30 and the owner comes in probably to prep for breakfast which starts at around 8 am. Because of that I had actually settled my bill last night (and had mentioned that I would be leaving quite early). When I came into Milan, she had shown me how to use the fob to get into the building after hours. She never bothered to show me how to exit the building after hours. So I was literally locked into the hotel. My fear was that I would set off some alarm and wake up the whole building. I tried my key but to no avail. There was a note on the wall that said to call a certain number if ever there was something that was required during off hours. Well if this isn’t one of those situations … I don’t know what is. I have a train to Verona to catch!!! There was a phone right there but could not for the life of me get an outside line. So I dared push a button (in the hopes that it would not set off some alarm!) and the lovely sound of a door unlocking came out. Best sound ever!

So I then made my way to the subway to only get on the platform and be met by a group of five or six people, two of which were still very drunk from a very late Saturday night. They could barely stand, let alone walk a straight line. I figured that I would lose them after a couple of stops. Nope … turns out they got out at the Central Station just like me. To get there though there is a connection and I had to wait for a few minutes before the metro came. One of the guys that could barely walked a straight line wandered off from the group (who were distracted by something) and almost fell on the tracks. My heart practically came out of my chest when I see him teetering on the edge!! Thank goodness one of the ladies that was with the group realized where he was and came to get him.

So that was all before 8 am! The train ride though … uneventful and I was able to find my hotel with no real problem. As was expected though my room was not ready when I arrived. So armed with the map from the hotel, I set off to discover Verona. I had to do a bit of strategic planning though seeing that I am only here two days and that many things are closed on Mondays. I did buy a Verona 2-day card which gives me access to tons of museums, churches and other sights. I will take full advantage of that!!

So the first stop would be the Roman Arena which is actually still used for operas and different concerts. Although not an opera fan, I had actually looked to see if I could get tickets. when I was first planning this trip. I think that there would be something to being out in the open in this wonderful arena that would be unforgettable. Unfortunately the concerts start a little later in the year. The only downside with this arena is that because of the modern seating, you kind of lose on the fact that it is in fact a roman ruin and has been in existence for centuries. But lovely nonetheless.

Then I went looking for my next stop, the Palazzi Scaligeri which houses the Centro Internazionale di Fotografia. I’m guessing that I do not have to explain why I wanted to go there. It is at that point that I came to the conclusion that my ability to find touristic sights is directly proportional to my blood sugar level. I could not find this thing to save my life. It’s a former palace … how hard can it be! Time to carbohydrate load then I’ll be able to find it. So I stopped at a café in Piazza Erbe and had spaghetti with ragu sauce. I don’t usually eat spaghetti in a restaurant because I don’t think anyone can beat my mom’s sauce. It was really good but I do have to say that my mom’s still wins out. I topped it off with the frothiest of cappuccinos and then was back on my way to find this Palazzi.

After much searching, I finally found it. It is not that well marked … in my defense. The exhibit was of this artist called Gianluigi Colin. His work was fascinating. What added to it is the fact that this museum is built underground around Roman ruins that were discovered about 20 years ago during some pipe work excavations. There are signs that explain what the ruins are and include an old street, sewer and an old residence where some of the mosaic floor patterns remain intact. So not only is the exhibit fascinating but so are the surroundings. There are also a couple of skylight that look out onto the inner courtyard of the palace. It's funny to see tourists looking in and realizing that there are people below. I wish I could have taken photos. The exhibits ended with a room with a large wall and just a photocopier. The idea is that each visitor becomes part of the exhibit and as such you are asked to photocopy something that represents you or something that you own. There are hands, smooched faces, breasts, contents of purses, insides of diaries … you name it, it is on that wall. So I needed to be creative … so Green M&M is now part of the exhibit. For those who don’t know … Green M&M is a little stuffed toy and she travels with me. She has her own travel photo album called Where In the World Is Green M&M (http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.476251332673.309589.630857673&l=a5bc9f9013)

Coming out of there, I noticed that a small crowd had gathered. The reason was that the Historic Automobile Club of Verona had some cars on display. Hence the many many many photos of cars that I took because my dad would have been quite disappointed if I had not!! Enjoy dad ... and I am guessing that you will be able to tell me what each of those cars are. I like the 1951 Jaguar myself!!

This would then take me to the Palazzo Forti which houses the museum of modern art. The exhibit was showing the works of Marc Chagall which I found highly interesting. There was also a video interview with him which was playing in one of the rooms and which I took the time to watch a good portion of. There were works of his that were part of the Nice and Riviera series. When I was in Nice, I did see a few of his work displayed by the Promenade des Anglais. It was nice to see some of the originals from that series.

I then meandered aimlessly in some of the side streets (that is almost just as entertaining as the major tourist sights!!) and came upon the Basilica di Santa Anastasia. This is considered one of the largest churches in Verona. What gets me everytime is how long some of these buildings took to build … this particular church was started in the 13th century and was only completed in the early years of the 16th century. The flooring is the original and it dates back to 1444. There is also a holy water spout which is essentially a statue of a hunchback holding up the basin. This dates back to the 16th century and apparently touching his hump brings good luck.

My day ended with more meandering around the small streets and eventually circling back to the Roman arena. There was a “festa bambino” that had gathered so there was quite a gathering of people, especially families. The street performers were out in full force as well. They are just so entertaining to watch.

I made my way back to the hotel where I needed to have the whole window situation explained to me. The window in my room literally looked like it was falling off its hinges. Apparently that's how they are made ... who knew. This led the young girl at the reception to ask "you don't have windows like this in your country". I felt like answering that in my country we have about 9 months of winter so opening windows is not THAT common but I refrained. It then dawned on me as to how much of this trip I have spent trying to figure out showers, windows, safety deposit boxes and the like. I have also spent quite a bit of time flicking on the wrong light switches, bumping into furniture and just basically looking for stuff. I am constantly looking for something. I will now appreciate the fact that in my house everything has its place and that I know exactly which light switch turns on what light!! Oh the little things ....

So tomorrow I will continue putting my Verona card to good use. It is going to be a packed day. The town is so incredibly pretty and so enjoyable to walk through. I cannot wait to see what tomorrow brings.

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Photos

Photo 4
I love these street performers!

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Roman Arena ... still used today for events

Photo 8
Modern seating

Photo 9
Roman Arena

Photo 15
Another street performer

Photo 16
Gladiators having fun with the tourists

Photo 17
Fixing his wings ... sweet

Photo 28
Charlie Chaplin

Photo 29
A smaller version of la bocca de la verita???

Photo 30
Pretty cappucino ... and yummy too!

Photo 31
Entrance to Scavi Scaligeri

Photo 32
Courtyard to Scavi Scaligeri

Comments

[Francine]

Fair Verona...with Angels fixing their wings in the street...too cute:) Hope you got to touch the hunchback for good luck:)