Last Minute Getaway to Verona, Italy!

My husband and I took a last minute trip to Verona, Italy last week.  We had two family members to take good care of the boys so we figured it may be our only chance (or certainly a rare chance) to do something on our own.  So we took advantage of it and flew to Verona Saturday afternoon and returned Sunday evening.

Verona was absolutely beautiful.  It had been about fifteen years since I had been to Italy and I forgot how almost every street is just amazing in its history, story, and beauty.

View from street behind our hotel on the waterfront

After we were settled into our hotel, we got a bite to eat.  We went to a nearby piazza (Piazza Delle Erbe, originally the Roman Forum) and sat at the restaurant with mist, which was wonderful given the hot 95 degree weather.  We didn't expect much from the food, as we assumed that most piazza restaurants cater to tourists, not foodies.  But we were blown away.

First meal in Verona, at Piazza Delle Erbe

We didn't have a lot of time before our evening plans, but I wanted to check off something on the must-do list, so we decided to go to the Lamberti Tower (construction of which started in the twelfth century and ended in 1464).

Lamberti Tower, as seen from Piazza Dei Signore, where we ate dinner

However, we first needed to pick up a Verona card, which allows entry into almost all of the sites for 15 Euros.  The closest place that sold the Verona card was the Juliet house.

The story of Romeo and Juliet took place in Verona.  Perhaps my English teacher was remiss, but I thought it was a fictional story.  However, you can see Juliet's house, her balcony where she gave her "Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo" speech, Romeo and Juliet's tombs, etc.  We thought those attractions were a little touristy and just silly, but they drew big crowds.  I took a few pictures while waiting for my husband to buy the Verona card.  We didn't actually go into any of the Romeo and Juliet attractions though.

Anyway, we got some great pictures of Verona from the Lamberti Tower.

We also got to hear the bell ring!  Loudly!

Afterward, we got ready for dinner, which was yet another amazing meal, this time in Piazza die Signori, where we were surrounded by buildings from the 14th and 15th centuries and just feet away from a statue of Dante.  Below are pictures of the area in which we ate:

Looking up from my seat at the table, statue of Girolamo Fracastoro 

 View of the restaurant, Cafe Dante (in front of "orange" building)

Loggia del Consiglio (built between 1476 - 1493)

 Porta Bombardiera (1687)

Statue of Dante (1865)

First course of our dinner

Then we headed to our first opera, Carmen, at the Roman Arena, built in the 1st Century, and the third largest arena in Italy.  The arena and Carmen were simply amazing.

For people interested in seeing an opera there, I do have some advice:  go to the bathroom first (see photo below of the women's toilet, yes, one must stand up), bring ice water in your bag (most stands

ran out of water), bring a fan (it's hot), pay extra for the better seats, and take a nap beforehand (I had to leave before Carmen ended because I was so tired and it was well after midnight).  My husband and I are still humming music from the show though.  It was truly incredibly.

I wish we had another night in Verona.  If so, I would have loved to have shared a bottle of Italian wine with my husband in one of the piazzas.  The evening was cooler, people were out and about, and the historical settings in which to drink wine were endless.

The next morning started abruptly when my husband announced it was 9:30.  8:30 is my idea of sleeping in and even though it was 9:30, I felt like it was 6:00 (so much for feeling rested after my first night away from the boys).  Anyway, we meandered around Verona, made a quick visit to the Castelvecchio, a 14th Century castle, now containing a museum of sacred art, St. Anastastia Church and the Duomo di Verona.

 Castelvecchio

Castevecchio

 View outside of St. Anastastia (from our hotel)

View outside of St. Anastisia (from our hotel)

Inside St. Anastasia

Inside St. Anastasia

Inside St. Anastasia

Inside St. Anastasia

Inside St. Anastasia

Duomo di Verona (parts and pieces from 13th - 18th Centuries, also contains remains of a 4th Century paleo-Christian basilica)

Scaliger Tomb (a supreme achievement in Gothic Art, approx. 1375)

Corsa Porta Borsari, principal thoroughfare to Verona (1st Century)

We then had a great lunch on the street behind our hotel and, after my insistence, gelato in the Piazza Delle Erbe (where my husband cooled himself off with water from the 14th century water fountain).  After some shopping, we headed to the airport.

Fountain of Madonna Verona (1368), where my husband cooled off

Gelato options

One last photo in Piazza delle Erbe, starring my gelato

It was an incredible trip that I will always cherish.  Thank you to Erin and Anna for making it possible!