jetjunkies

April 27, 2019

I made a friend before we left Venice. He looks a little grumpy, but he’s really a lover.

Our train to Verona left at 11:50 am today. The tickets were for economy business, which seemed an oxymoron, so we weren’t sure what to expect. Thankfully we got on the right train and found our seats in a sparkling clean, comfortable new train. The trip took all of an hour through fairly flat farmland with the occasional hill town.

Verona was warm and sunny today, so we checked into our hotel and hit the streets to find Juliet’s balcony and the Roman Colosseum. Of course Juliet’s balcony is a fabrication for the tourists, based on Shakespeare’s famous love story that was set in Verona. The Montagues and Capulets are big business here. We didn’t wait in line to have the full romantic experience of being on the balcony like the gentleman in the photo.

We had noticed an extensive Roman City wall on the way to the hotel and the Colosseum, although not as large as the one in Rome is in better condition, being more intact.

Verona is a very pretty city with many competing bell towers. There is also a lot of high fashion. That must be because the close proximity to fashion capital Milan.

The hotel, is very beautiful. The roof lounge is wonderful with Panoramic views of the city and surrounding hills. We ate in the hotel tonight, because we had a voucher and we were both tired from wrestling luggage on and off the train (we are thinking of throwing our stuff out the window to lighten the load) and then walking all over the city. We were the only people in the dining room, but I chalked that up to eating at the uncivilized early hour of 7:30. Suzanne had a good dinner of She Drum fish. I ordered Eggplant Parmigiana, and received a very small baked Japanese eggplant dusted with red powder and about a quarter cup of potatoes. Not sure where the parmigiana was….the whole dinner was so small I couldn’t believe my eyes. Suzanne said my entree was the size of my fork….I’m afraid we got the giggles. Still hungry, I ordered the deconstructed apple pie. It was really quite good. They are trying too hard!

During our walk we came across an open market with people lined up for these delicious looking fruit cups. I’m planning on visiting these beauties again, on a more personal basis.

Next up we ran into a group Steampunk aficionados. Steampunk is a literary style and also a fashion and design style the combines historical elements with elements of technology from the steam-powered age. Not sure what this processional was all about, but it was entertaining. Love all the unexpected visual treats…..

We were wandering around and found this small cemetery of ornate tombs off of the Piazza Dei Signora.

This is the second hotel and the second adjacent church. This is the church of Saint Anastasia. I love that they have a clear lucite podium in front and to the left of the alter, a bit of the contemporary with the ancient.