Italy vol.1 - Streets of Verona

So that's a fact - Italy is a representation of Romantic, one of the leading example cities would be Verona - Home of Shakespeare's famous "Romeo and Juliette". We drove up to Teodorico Restaurant for lunch on this very fine day. The restaurant is up on the mountain and has the best view overlooking the whole Verona city.

Verona is listed as a world heritage site by UNESCO because of its urban structure and architecture. Looking out from the terrace, you can see never ending line of houses and buildings with red bricks rooftop from both sides, divided by the main canal. After the very satisfying lunch, we set off  to enter the city.

I have the impression that Verona is a middle sized town, it is not as big and insanely famous as Florence and Rome, but it is not a tiny city that no one knows of. In a good way, you do not have to be worried too much about pick pockets nor spent a good amount of time queuing to enter the main sights. I see it as a more relaxed and pleasant city to explore.

After we crossed the bridge, we headed for the Verona Arena in Piazza Bra. The arena is one of the preserved Roman ruins in the city. Unfortunately it is under renovation when we visited, else during the opera season, it serves as the world's third largest amphitheatre!

In the spirit of opera, we came to the house of Juliette as well. Remember the "balcony scene" which Romeo sneaked into Juliette's courtyard and vowed his love to her? It is in fact, a very tiny courtyard with a balcony claimed to belong to Juliette with no actual relation to the fictional character. Now serving as a "shrine of love" for young couples. It is still very interesting to see all the love vows graffiti written on the wall, locks all hung on the gate of the house, and a wall full of chewing gums to commemorate the tragic love of Romeo and Juliette.

We then spent the rest of the day walk around some interesting streets of the city. I like Verona in its humble Italian way. It tastes like a simple dish of aglio e oli, it offers delight in a simple way. A good ratio of pressed garlic and chilli on top of some al dente noodles. Just like a good ratio of roman ruins and medieval's architecture in the neighbourhood and houses of its residents.

                  

 

We then hiked back up to pick up the car in Teodorico, we could not be more amazed by the view from there. The sunset on Venora is like covering a purple duvet on the city, gently and calmly.. Good night Verona, good night my Juliette.