Italia... Verona

My guy has been lots of place and I have been to several, but neither of us have been to Italy so here we are!! On our very first European trip together (before kids) I kept a paper and pen journal of our daily adventures. Well, here we are, almost 30 years later and wow, have things changed!  No paper maps, no print books for research, no checking for hotel vacancies at train station phones with direct hotel links! And now a blog instead of a paper journal! But what remains the same is the best! Me and my guy, side by side, experiencing new places, new foods, and new cultures!

We begin our journey in Verona, Italy. I think it is likely overlooked by many, but if you are in the area, I think it's a definite stop!

We arrived in the afternoon and walked around town a bit. We stayed pretty central to everything so walking wasn't an issue. We had a fabulous dinner of great wood fired pizza, because after all, we arrived on Friday and Fridays are traditional pizza nights for the Pattersons. I also opted to sample the gelato!!

Gelato!!!

The next day we visited some local sites starting with Piazza Bra. The most famous thing there is the Roman Arena that has been in use since 30 AD! 

It's a beautiful area with colorful buildings, the ancient arena and a green space among all the cobblestone! Next we headed to the Arco dei Gavi. Of course, I couldn't help but stop along the way and snap a few pic of things that caught my eye!

I couldn't resist the colorful macarons and the reflection of the city was a bonus!

The standing Arc dei Gavi now is a replica of the original built around the 1st century. It's original location was at the Castelvecchio which is still in existence and right next door. 

Underneath the Arc dei Gavi with the Castelvecchio in the background.

One of my favorite things about traveling is seeing and talking to people in their element. I loved this vignette of these three older gentlemen just hanging out and chatting!  

Castelvecchio is an original fort to the city and a museum today. We walked across the the fort's bridge, called Ponte Scaligero. It was beautiful and crossed the river that runs through Verona, called Adige. I am not sure why the river was so murky, but it was flowing rather rapidly! Maybe rains?? Verona is also in the foothills of a very mountainous region so maybe run off from the mountains. Regardless, the river was high, murky and running fast!

Ponte Scaligero

After crossing Ponte Scaligero, we walked down the other side of the river and cross back to the city's historic center, Centro Storico, which is also called Piazza delle Erbe. It was filled with people and lots of vendors under umbrellas. Torre dei Lamberti is the tower in the piazza and people can go to the top of the tower for great views of the city, but the line was long and we don't appreciate crowds so opted to skip it! We walked around the piazza for a bit but then headed on to our next stop.

I took this photo because of the sheer opposition it shows. There's a very modern apartment building on the left, a historic apartment building on the right and in the middle a portion of an ancient city wall!

Piazza delle Erbe

Our next stop was Basilca Santa Antasia. It is the largest church in Verona and construction on the church began in the 13th century. Some remarkable features of the church that stood out to me were the floor and the ceiling. The floors were completed in the 15th century and contain varies types of marble. The ceilings were painted in various stages with the last around 1437. 

After leaving the basilica we headed to Ponte Pietra. It's a beautiful bridge that again crosses the river Adige that flows throw Verona. After crossing the bridge we headed up the hillside toward the Piazzale Castel San Pietro, basically a castle on a high hill! After walking up over 200 stairs, we we rewarded with beautiful views of the city!

Ponte Pietra

Homes tucked into the hillside

Duomo

This the back of the Basilica Santa Anastasia that we toured.

Red rooftops galore!

Needless to say, after this climb and in the heat (high 90s!!) we were ready for a break. We headed back to the AirBnB for a bit then we decided to explore a rather unusual museum - Museo Nicolis. This museum showed up in some searches I had done and we needed a break from the outdoor heat so we decided to give it a try. This museum was completely a project of an individual and his collections. He predominantly collected items related to racing - cars, motorcycles and bikes, but he also just seemed to have a fascination with the mechanical. In addition to things that go, the museum contains musical instruments, typewriters, cameras, engines, and such. Honestly, it was very interesting and I highly recommend! Now, I am someone that has always said that if I was independently wealthy that I would collect old cars, so take my recommendation with that in mind. 

Nicolis seemed to be very interested in the Mille Miglia and had numerous types of cars that had been in that race. All of the cars and motorcycles are operational as well! 

I said, Oh I love this one! My guy says, of course, it's a Ferrari! For years he has said I always pick the most expensive items out of a lineup!! What can I say!! I have a good eye!

Is this not the most adorable tiny car you have ever seen??? I mean that gingham interior!!!

I want one of these!

This one looked like it was smiling! :-)

Formula One steering wheel collection

Gas headlamps

This one had keys in the ignition - cracked me up!

Girl in the Grill

Classic!

A 1950's jet engine by GE - My Guy's livelihood!

My Guy checking out all the particulars!!

I'm a Canon Girl so I had to snap a pic.

A typewriter for music

I spy My Guy!

After the museum, we headed back to the room to get ready for our evening. We had tickets to the opera, Carmen, in the Arena in Verona! Neither of us had ever been to an opera so why not experience it in Italy!!??!! I must say, I had no idea that the opera would last almost four hours!! Is that normal? Carmen consisted of 4 acts and in my opinion the first and last were the best. The cast was ginormous!! And they even had horses and donkeys on stage - a big highlight for me! We were both surprised at how much of the music we recognized. Being in an arena that has been used since 30 AD was pretty cool; however, the seats were incredibly uncomfortable and made for a looooong evening. Overall, I am glad I went and experienced it. It was a fun evening hanging out with my guy!

The opera started at 9:15 and ended at 1:00!!

The dancers on each side of the stage had, basically, a flamenco dance off! They were very good! Got us through the home stretch before the final act. 

Horses!

We packed things up the next morning, I had a wonderful yogurt bowl from a place at the end of our street, Via Antonio Cantore, and then we headed in our rental car to our next stop - Venice!!

View from the window in our AirBnB

Rooftop across the street

Our Verona Street