Verona
Romeo, Romeo.. wherefore art thou, Romeo?
Yup, am in Verona now, the home of Romeo & Juliet. The old town itself is quite pretty. Like Cesky Krumlov and Sighisoara, the whole city is on Unesco’s World Heritage List. And the shopping!! Although I think I might hold off til Milan. Don’t really want to carry too much stuff with me now.
I don’t really like my hotel though. It’s far from the town centre - or the train station, for that matter - and my room is kinda cramped. And yes it’s a hotel so I won’t get to meet anyone. Would not recommend it. I wish I’d booked a room somewhere closer to town. Oh well.
Have bought my ticket for the opera tomorrow night. Yes, it’s the opera season. And it’s at the ancient Roman Arena, which looks pretty much like a smaller Colosseum. Should be very cool. I’ve seen the outside but did not bother buying the ticket to get in as am gonna be there tomorrow anyway.
Piazza Erbe is pretty cool.. the buildings are gorgeous, but too bad it’s cramped with too many market/souvenir stalls. Still, I think I might head back there for dinner tonight.
I went to Juliet’s house, which was packed with tourists rubbing her right breast for better luck in their love life (I, of course, had to do the same, being a tourist and all) and later on went up the Bell Tower.
When I first got to Verona and was making my way down from the hotel to town, I didn’t like it at all. It’s just a typical modern city, a bit dirty, and the weather was hot and muggy. It’s probably about half an hour walk to the centre, which is just about the same as the walk from my hostel in Venice to St Mark’s Square, but somehow it is A LOT different.
In Venice you hardly feel it because the whole town is gorgeous. You can just stroll along the narrow alleys and cross the tiny bridges and watch the gondolas and stop by at souvenir shops or gelateria - pretty much enjoying the whole experience - and before you know it, you’re there. Whereas here, you don’t see nothing but busy roads and cars. And I must say it’s not very pedestrian-friendly either. Not a lot of pedestrian crossings here, so you just have to risk it!
Anyway, at least the town centre is pretty so it’s worth it. Kind of.
I stopped on my way to the Arena to get some Chinese food. Yeah, I was craving Chinese food - getting a bit sick of pizza and pasta all day. Plus I was hungry and dehydrated. The food itself was mediocre, but at least it wasn’t another slice of pizza. I might get some Italian food tonight for dinner.
Spent all day souvenir shopping in Venice yesterday, and got ripped off. Bought some bracelets for €6 only to find the exact same item for €3.5 elsewhere. Doh! So beware when you shop in Venice!
Anyway, better go. I’m not even sure how much this is costing me.
