Romantic Verona

















Verona looks like a beautiful city with much to explore. It was only a short one hour drive from Sirmione and we were once again transported with private drivers, a van and a car in convoy. 
We arrived in Verona before midday and were dropped, quite literally at the door of our hotel, a stone’s throw from the famous Arena of Verona and the wide and inviting Piazza Bra. 
Not all the rooms were ready, so we checked in and waited, then all went off in various directions to find a bite to eat before our 1:30 pm walking tour commenced. 
There were 15 of us on the tour and our guide moved quickly through the crowded spaces, often hard to find, although we had her voice in our ear the whole time, filling our heads with interesting snippets of history dating back to the times of the Roman Empire. 
Our first stop was the Arena, not dissimilar to the Colosseum in Rome, not as large, but built originally  for the same purpose. Now it is an open-air opera theatre for 6 months of the year. Some of us climbed the steep steps to the top which gave us a sense of the scale of the structure. 
The tour continued around the old part of the city, pointing out Roman ruins, interesting architecture and bits of Roman buildings, and even grave stones, that have been recycled and reused in other buildings over the years. 
Eventually, we made our way to the Funicular which would take us to the terrace of Castel San Pietro, with amazing views of the city. 
Although Shakespeare never set foot in Verona, he certainly had a part to play in making the city famous through his play Romeo and Juliette. The final stop in our tour was Juliette’s Balcony, which can be found in a courtyard close to the main shopping strip of Verona. Although of course, the story is fictional, the city capitalised on its popularity and when people began visiting the building owned by a  family with a name similar to Capulet, the city officials decided to buy the building and sell entry tickets to the house. The balcony and a statue of Juliette, can be viewed for free, if you are prepared to queue. 
After the three hour tour we were in need of Aperitvo before returning to the Hotel Guilietta e Romeo where we will spend our one night in Verona. 




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