Read about our time exploring the beautiful Verona, strolling lazily down its streets and taking in the sights...
We had a major early morning, a 6.45am start to catch our 8am train to Verona. As we walked out the hotel the air was cool and a huge market was being set up in our street. I really like the trains in Italy, I had prebought all our tickets before the holiday and so we had reserved seats throughout which was nice.
On arrival we learnt how Verona was very easy to navigate about, in hindsight I can say it was the best city to walk around from our whole travels. Everything is signposted and it doesn't seem overwhelmingly big either. We were able to find our way into the town from the station no problem. By the time we arrived the weather had risen and it was about 32 degrees, which is what it stayed all day however there was a breeze so it was comfortable.
We had 9 hours in Verona and no grand plan so we decided to just stroll around and get a feel of the place. It didn't feel too touristy at all, the only place we encountered any level of crowd was when visiting 'Juliets Balcony'. It sits in a small courtyard and there was a lot of people in the small space. In the little alley leading up to the courtyard people write messages of love, on the wall itself, post it notes and even sanitry pads.
Another beautiful feature of Verona was its river, there are a number of bridges to cross over. The Castelvecchio bridge offered some amazing views and had a small stone staircase which you could climb for a better viewpoint. I ended up climbing it and then chickening out and making Adam help me down. We spent the day criss crossing over the river.
Piazza Bra was in the centre of Verona, its the largest piazza in Italy and also where the arena is. We did end up walking through the piazza a few times in the day but we didn't really stop for any considerable time as this was the busiest area.
We ended up having lunch at a gorgeous little place just off the river, although I can't remember what it was called. I had a ricotta and ham calzone whilst Adam went for a ham and sausage pizza. We each also had an amazing dessert which consisted of white chocolate and pistachio all encased in chocolate. It was a really pretty place to eat, one of my favourite meals.
We spent a lot of time walking around, looking in shops, sitting in parks. We even spent half an hour talking to a wonderful Italian man as he took us around his workshop where he restored furniture. There was a lot of mirrors from the 1800's but also some amazing art deco stuff. He was really friendly and spoke us through some of his ideas for the restoration.
I really enjoyed Verona, I think it would be a wonderful base to stay at and explore the surrounding area (Lake Gara is very close). I would like to return one day, maybe with my mother in tow as I think she would love it here too.
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