Una bella giornata in una bella Verona

Lots of pictures in this one for you all, from a beautiful day in Verona!

Yesterday a bunch of us headed off to Verona to check out the scenery, have a bit of an adventure and just get out of Milano. With most of the cities being close to each other, it is nice to be able to take a train for 1.5hours and be somewhere completely different- especially a place that we actually know a bit about (thanks high-school English!). With the weather heating up as well the days are perfect for wandering around and discovering places in the different cities. 

For what I thought was a relatively small town, I was amazed to see how prosperous and wealthy it was! Luxury shops and cars everywhere, and so many old buildings and historical remains kept in such great condition. This might become a re-occurring theme as I make my way around Europe, but coming from Australia where we practically have no history to see so many historical artefacts and places in one location is amazing.

It is often easier to get around places through walking, and this way we also get to see more things, so we spent the day on foot, making our way through the many alleys and roads in Verona. Needless to say my feet were killing me when we got back onto the train in the afternoon! Surrounding the many alleys and the Piazza Erba are these cute colourful buildings, making the whole city look so bright and cheerful. There are so many little piazzas all around that we kept stumbling upon, and each one had their own little bit of history- Baroque buildings, Gothic funeral monuments, Renaissance arches and so much more. Each corner you turn leads to another major site- the Roman arena, the Scaligeri tombs, the Ponte Pietra (the story bridge crossing the main river) or the Gardino Giusto.

 

Of course on our lists of places to visit was Casa di Giulietta (Juliet's house/balcony). I would have expected to find more signs leading to the house, but rather we just needed to follow the crowds (or tour guides) to find it. Inside the courtyard people purchase locks and attach them to the gate and the tree around Juliet's statue. Apparently, as the legend goes, you write your and your partner's name on the lock and its meant to be a good omen for love. For anyone who has seen the film "Letters to Juliet," we didn't find the mailboxes into which you can write your letter to Juliet, but apparently they do exist! One thing that did disappoint me was that everyone has taken to writing their names all over the walls surrounding the house/balcony, so the area looks rather messy and covered in graffiti. Even as we were there you could see people trying to find a blank spot on the walls to write their names and messages.

We didn't head into the museum but headed off to find some lunch and have some vino rosso in the sunshine, taking time to relax back into the Piazza Erba and watch the people pass by. After a bit more wandering around we went off to find the Gardino Giusto. From up the top of the gardens there is a beautiful view of Verona so we all took the opportunity to relax for a bit- having a nap, reading or just sitting there. None of us really wanted to leave but unfortunately we were running against the clock in order to catch our train back to Milano- after a couple of stops for gelato it was a mad dash to get to the station on time!

It was like a secret garden, except it's a maze...

After a long and successful day of sightseeing it is always good to get home, but we had little time to relax as a couple of the other German Erasmus students who live down the road from us were having a house party. A quick dinner and change of clothes then it was off to make more friends! After a very exhausting day the party actually turned out to be rather relaxed, and it was always convenient knowing we had just a 100m walk home at the end of it. If anyone has any suggestions of where to travel next, let me know!

We stumbled upon a Holocaust Memorial