We travelled by train to Verona, our new favourite city. Warm and sunny. Our airbnb was right in the middle of historical buildings. Every morning I opened up the shutters that looked out at our own courtyard.
We were 1 street away from the Adige river and the famous Ponte Pietra.
Just gorgeous, typical Italian picturesque historic alley ways, cool little Medieval villages. Like postcards. We walked everywhere, no need for public transport.
Something we saw a lot of in Italy were these shrines usually dedicated to the Virgin Mary, often built into the exterior walls of houses, at street corners, or in hidden courtyards. The flowers, candles, and small framed photos are offerings left by locals to express thanks, ask for divine protection, or offer prayers for loved ones. It’s a centuries-old tradition that allows the residents of the neighbourhood to maintain a small, personal chapel right on their street.
We saw “Juliet’s house and balcony” from Romeo and Juliet (Yes we do know its fictional but still)
Scaligeri graves, a Gothic funerary complex built for the powerful Della Scala family who ruled the city in the 13th and 14th centuries
Piazza dei Signori (The city Square)
Torre dei Lamberti: Verona’s tallest Medieval tower, built by the Lamberti family in 1172
And we happened upon this 1st century Roman amphitheatre!
Castle San Pietro. What a view of Verona and there was a saxophone playing and loads of couples making out haha (I think Verona is the city of love, never mind Paris. We saw a lot of couples kissing) and sitting on the wall around the saxophone player, not moving to let people take pics. Was magic watching the sun set.
Ponte di Castelvechio, a fortified bridge over the Adige River.
We went into L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele and split a huge yummy Naples style pizza. I wondered why there were pics of Julia Roberts on the walls with the staff. Turns out, that was the pizza restaurant Julia Roberts ate at in the movie Eat Pray Love.
A lot of Italian restaurants open at 7pm for dinner. Forkette, right next to our airbnb was opening just as we were arriving back at our airbnb, having given up on finding a palace to eat, not knowing that they’re all closed between 2:30-7pm! so we went there for dinner. Turns out they are award winning restaurant and we weren’t disappointed. More food pics.
Then we came upon these Roman remains
Did I mention everyone in Italy is so stylish? In one store I told the pushy woman there I wanted a blue jersey (oops they call them jumpers not jerseys) she said in a very concerned way “but blue is not fashionable. The colours right now are earthy tones” which was actually obvious from looking in all the shops.
Also, unintentionally, we shopped at Italy’s first cashier less supermarket. The in store AI technology automatically detects what items you pick up (or put back) and add them to a virtual shopping cart in real time, no need to scan anything yourself.
You can keep items in the store’s trolley, put them directly into your own bag/backpack. When you’re done, you just head to a payment area to review your virtual cart and pay then leave. There are no traditional checkouts or queues, and staff are there to help if needed. Prevents shoplifting.
Next destination Venice!
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