When I travel one of the most important things I look for are places to eat, and by that I don't mean those touristic menu restaurants which I avoid at all costs, I like to eat where the locals eat, try their specialties and traditional dishes even if it means spending a little more which is almost never the case because if you go prepared or even ask around you'll discover that finding good eateries won't be a hard task, locals are usually always willing to help out and tell visitors where to go to eat well!
Which brings me to the topic of this blog entry, yes, Verona, last September my husband and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary and much to our surprise our sons gave us a wonderful gift, a trip to Verona all expenses paid by them, they booked us in a 4 Star Best Western just a five minute walk from the Arena, I must say it was the best present ever! Hubby and I had a great time, Hotel was great in every sense, I remember telling my husband, "for me just the hotel room itself is the vacation...haha" it had every comfort, well goes to show you how much we are not used to 4 Star Hotels, I mean 3 stars yes but 4 star is a whole different ball game, here in Italy at least.
Every night we'd go have dinner and then walk around the Arena, we were so awestruck by it, so beautiful all lit up at night, then we'd sit in the park just outside the Arena, it was so romantic, such a beautiful memory, I will never ever forget it, during the day we'd do sightseeing in the historical centre, there was so much to see, one of the must sees is Julliet's house, set in a romantic medieval building with Julliet's balcony looking onto the courtyard where all the tourists enjoy taking photos standing next to a statue of Julliet, legend has it that if you rub Julliet's left breast it will bring you good luck, so you see all these tourists rubbing her breast whilst taking a photo, it's actually quite an amusing sight to see, oh and by the way I too didn't miss out on the experience haha.
In the central Piazza, called Piazza delle Erbe, located just off the Arena you will find a very characteristic open air market, where they sell anything from t-shirts to souvenires to food stuff, ice cream and so on, around the piazza are many shops, ice cream parlours and Cafès, there was one Cafè that really struck me, it was called Cafè Wallner, it was so refind and elegant, so relaxing and beautiful decor and they had such delishes pastries, it was like a step back in time to the old ice cream parlours of the fifties in the U.S.A. I highly advise you to pay this Cafè a visit if you go to Verona.
Verona is definitely one place I will certainly enjoy seeing again, it's like Rome, Venice, or Florence, one of those cities you most certainly never tire seeing, and if you do go to Verona remember to make it a point to go see a concert in the Arena, an experience like no other, we went to see Il Volo in concert and it was an unforgettable experience that one can't explain in words, this ancient structure full of beauty and romance fills the air with It's' magic, a feeling you will only understand when you're there.
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| Arena di Verona |
