Verona - one of our favourite Italian cities

For this visit to Verona, we decided to stay in the centre of town. Last time we stayed up in the hills within  vineyards, but given our state of health it turned out to be a much better choice being right amongst everything. My first afternoon was an exploratory afternoon, and brought back all the memories of Verona from our last trip. Despite still feeling quite unwell, it certainly brought a smile to my face seeing the familiar streets and enjoying the delicious gelato (for medicinal purposes only, of course!)

That night we made the journey to a local pasta place recommended by our host, but were quite disappointed with the very salty food and smokers really ruined any chance we had of enjoying a leisurely meal, and we soon headed home.

We were only a few hundred metres from the Arena, which was crowded with people, even from 10.30am the next mrorning, when we both ventured out to enjoy a hop-on-hop off bus tour.

The architecture was amazing as were the touches of green and colour so decoratively arranged, and it was a delight to enjoy the sights from the smoke free zone of the bus. Our coughing didn’t seem to annoy too many (we hope)...

 

We loved the cathedral, especially the angel out the front.

 

The bus even ventured up to the lookout so we could appreciate the stunning views of the city below.

We enjoyed a scrumptious meal of penne arrabiata and eggplant parmigiana at a little cafe in a side street. The rose frizzante was also delicious!

 

After lunch we tried to avoid the crowds as we slowly made our way back toward the arena and Piazza dei Sapori where the markets of amazing food was enough to tempt just about anyone.

 

After lunch, in the early afternoon we could even hear an opera performance coming from inside. Many hundreds of people had been queueing to enter as we ate our gelato earlier in the day.

For our final evening we found a restaurant just below our apartment, where I even tried the famous Ferrari champagne. It was delicious!!

Unfortunately the weight of the super size magnum prevented me from bring it back home.

Next morning, I was feeling a little better and woke early so decided to head out for a wander through the streets while they were crowd free. Wandering around through freshly washed streets was a delight, and the lack of crowds and morning sun made everything look so much more beautiful.

I kept walking until I came to the church of St Anastasia - seeing as Anastasia is the name I chose as my confirmation name, I figured it was appropriate. It is the largest church in Verona, and has a lovely position just near the water!

 

Whilst Juliette’s balcony was officially closed, I still thought her statue looked glorious glistening in the morning light, with her balcony just visible on the right.

On the previous day when we had attempted to visit it was more crowded than Vivid on a Saturday night, and not worth the pushing and shoving, so we had squeezed our way down the street to get away from the crowds.

Heading back to the apartment for breakfast I enjoyed some lovely window shopping...

Can you believe the swimmers are velvet???