Verona

 In fair Verona, where we lay our scene.

Shakespeare must have known how lovely Verona is.  Now we do too.  It is a charming, beautiful, and oh so full of history city.  Wish we had some more time for it.

We saved exploring Verona for our final full day in Italy.  The cold front had brought in some much nicer weather, & after a delicious breakfast at the hotel we set off to explore.

Our first stop was the Arena at Piazza Bra.

Verona's arena was built in 30 A.D. and is still intact, and being used today.

It was crazy walking inside a building so old.

Chairs and the stage were all set up for the Opera Festival.

We climbed up to the top for a full view.

Cannot begin to fathom what these walls have seen.

Thinking about the history of the Arena, led our discussion to gladiators, which then led us to another discussion:  how much revenue they could generate with period gladiator costumes and the chance for every male to walk out into the Arena as a gladiator.

These three would have said "Please, take my money."

After we finished at the Arena, we headed over to another famous spot in Verona.

Thanks to Shakespeare, Juliet's house is considered a must see for visitors.

For us, we walked down the alley, took a look around, snapped a pic then left.

Cool to see but no need to linger.

Keenan found his favorite store.

Tartufo is Italian for truffle.

The savory, fungus kind.

Gift idea for Keenan-look to the Italian truffle.  The truffle.

Next stop was Piazza delle Erbe.

The Piazza sits on top of the Roman Forum, and is one of the most beautiful in all of Europe.

I would agree.

Every where you look, is just stunning.

Yes, that is what looks like a whale bone hanging from the arch.

Various stories about it, doesn't sound like anyone really knows why it was hung....

Vendors sell food & gifts down on the Piazza, and beautiful frescos like this are just above.

I could have stopped at a cafe and just enjoyed the view more, but the rest of the crew wanted to keep moving.

So we did.

Our driver the previous day had told us to be sure and visit the Basilica of St. Anastasia.

The outside did not look like much, but walking through the doors.....

wow.

Construction on the Basilica began in 1290 & it is the largest church in Verona, as well as an excellent example of Gothic architecture.

The craftsmanship is amazing.

These holy water stoops are called "the hunchbacks."

Good luck to those who rub the hunchback.

We just took photos.

Lots of photos.

The frescos are beautiful.

Some have been fully restored & others are in the process of being restored.

So glad our driver suggested this.

Leaving the Basilica we were all getting hungry, and we headed across the street to a little pasta restaurant.

Fresh pasta & drinks we had window seats to people watch.

Pretty easy to pick out the other tourists versus the locals.

Then we headed to our next stop-Ponte Pietra bridge.

This bridge was completed by the Romans in 100 B.C..  It spans the Adige and gives amazing views of the city.  Portions of the bridge were blown up during WWII but they have done a great job of rebuilding.

Porta Borsari-the Roman gateway into Verona still stands.

And looks great for its age.  Built in the 1st century.

Keenan, however, was not as thrilled as I was with all the history.

By the time we got to the Castlevecchio Museum, I was the only one interested in going inside.

It's a medieval art and weapons museum set in a castle on the banks of the Adige river.

Medieval weapons & there was no interest from my crew in exploring.

Instead they were focused on exploring something else.

Searched on phones, and after a few wrong turns & backtracking found what they were looking for:

European designs in hand & successfully communicating shoe sizes with helpful clerk, we took our time heading back to the hotel.

Coming back to the Arena and Piazza Bra we noticed the antique cars were lining up for a road "race" later.

Some very sweet, classic rides were on display.

We thought about hanging around to watch them all drive away, but then realized it wasn't beginning for almost two hours.  Instead we headed back to the hotel to relax and pack our bags.

Then, for our last time, we walked to dinner.

Drinks, fresh pastas, and delicious desserts were all enjoyed.

Thank you Italy.

The people we met, places we visited, and foods we enjoyed were all fantastic.

Best of all was the time we had together.