Europe

This morning we were up early and downstairs to the hotel restaurant before 8:00 am, so we could enjoy breakfast before heading to the train station to catch the train to Verona.

Our Uber picked us up from the hotel a little before 9:00 am for the ten-minute drive to the beautiful Milano Centrale train station, where we boarded the 9:35 am high-speed train for Verona. The trip was very pleasant. We arrived in Verona around 10:50 am, exited the station, and hopped into a taxi for the short ride into the historic centre of Verona.

Our first stop was the beautiful Verona Arena. This Roman amphitheatre located is an iconic symbol of the city and is among the best-preserved ancient amphitheatres in the world. It is still in active use today, regularly hosting concerts and events.

From the arena, we wandered down Via Giuseppe Mazzini, which was packed with people, on our way to Casa di Giulietta (Juliet’s house). Casa di Giulietta is a restored 13th-century building in Verona originally owned by the Cappello family, whose name resembles “Capulet” from Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”. The house is famous for its courtyard and the iconic balcony.

From Casa di Giulietta, we walked around the corner to Via Stella to a nice little restaurant, where we sat outside and enjoyed a light lunch.

After lunch, we walked a short distance to Torre dei Lamberti (Lamberti Tower), which at 84 metres high, is the tallest building in Verona. The construction of the tower dates back to 1172, although the top of the tower was destroyed by lightning in 1403, and had to be rebuilt.

Given that it was a very hot day, and we still had plenty of walking to do, we chose to ascend the tower via the elevator rather than take the stairs. However, the elevator only goes so far, so steps still have to be climbed! The reward for climbing the steps to the top was a wonderful 360-degree view of Verona.

It was about 2:15 pm when we got down from Torre dei Lamberti, and we decided that gelatos were in order!

After our gelatos, we walked around the market stalls in Piazza delle Erbe.

After walking around the market, we decided to stop for a rest and a drink, to get a little respite from the brutal summer heat.

From Piazza delle Erbe, we made our way back to Piazza Bra, a very pretty garden just near the Verona Arena.

With still plenty we wanted to see, we left the garden and walked to Ponte Scaligero, the fortified bridge over the Adige River. This bridge dates back to the middle of the 14th century and, at the time of its construction, this segmental arch bridge featured the world’s largest span (48.7 metres).

From the bridge, we walked along the river to the Ponte Risorgimento, where we crossed back over the river and headed to Basilica di San Zeno Maggiore. This basilica was constructed between 967 and 1398 AD. Its fame rests partly on its Romanesque architecture and partly upon the tradition that its crypt was the place of the marriage of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.

Before going into the basilica, we relaxed briefly in the adjoining square.

It was after 5:00 pm when we left the basilica, so hopped into a taxi and headed back to the train station to catch our train back to Milan.

We arrived in Milan around 7:30 pm. We caught and Uber back to the hotel, by which time it was nearly 8:00 pm, so we decided to have dinner in our room.

Tomorrow, we’re planning on spending the day in Turin.