Verona – The most Italian place on Earth

Visiting Verona, Italy, hadn’t been in my plan. However, I was told that operas were performed there in summer. I had never been to an opera or Verona, so I thought that was the perfect reason to visit the city on my way back to Vienna.

I had driven from La Spezia to Pisa to return the hire car I had been renting for the past thirty days. Driving alone through Tuscany had been a great adventure, but I was very happy to return the Fiat SUV in one piece. I was so happy I wanted to kiss the ground when I arrived at the rental yard.

I was heading to Verona. From the Pisa rental yard, I caught a shuttle to the Pisa Mover, which took me to the train station to catch a train to Florence. When I arrived in Florence, a hot wind was blowing and the temperature was soaring into the mid-30s. My connecting train to Bologna was delayed for an hour, and when it finally arrived, I noticed everyone getting off the train had wet clothes.

I didn’t realise until I boarded that they were dripping in sweat. As soon as I stepped onto the train, I was hit with hot air. The air conditioning wasn’t working. Sitting on the train felt like being in a baking dish inside an oven. Staff were handing out bottles of water, which I used to pour over my head. It was that hot.

Luckily, the trip was only about forty minutes. I felt so bad for the lady sitting opposite me, who was still on the train when I got off in Bologna. Verona was one more train ride away!

Arriving in Verona

I arrived in Verona at 7 pm and it was still hot. My clothes were drenched from a mixture of sweat and water, and I needed to catch a bus from the train station to my hotel, Hotel De’ Capuleti (in case you are a Romeo and Juliet fan). From the bus stop, I had a ten-minute walk to the hotel and, of course, I had to drag my suitcase over the ancient cobbled footpaths. I started to feel better when I passed a group of senior locals sitting outside a bar drinking Aperol Spritz. Yes please, I need one or two of those!

The most Italian place on Earth

Following the footpath alongside an enormous stone wall, I eventually came to a large arch and knew my hotel was nearby. Finally, air conditioning. After checking into my room and having a much-needed shower, I walked back past the stone wall looking for Ristorante Flora, a vegan restaurant the hotel had recommended to me.

After ordering my first Aperol Spritz, I ordered a delicious pasta and another Aperol Spritz. Needing to walk off a day of sitting on trains, I headed towards the lights in the distance. In five minutes, I was standing in front of the Arena. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. The Arena looked like a smaller Colosseum, just sitting there as it had done since around 30 AD. It is remarkably well preserved and still hosts summer opera festivals and concerts. And here I was, just casually wandering past this ancient building.

The Arena sat to one side of a public square, with restaurants along another side, a museum and a park nearby. It was full of people. Some were watching a busker, others were buying things from vendors that flew into the air, while some were simply sitting on park benches opposite the Arena.

I decided to keep walking, following the crowd down the first pedestrian street off the square. There were shops on either side, and the street was paved with pink marble! It led to another public square, but I decided to head back to my hotel for the night.

After my delicious buffet breakfast, I headed out to continue exploring Verona, starting where I had left off the night before. At the end of the pink marble street was Piazza delle Erbe, busy with local market stalls and surrounded by historic buildings. It was another very hot day, so a fresh fruit juice from one of the stalls was needed.

Romeo and Juliet

I was on a quest to find the statue of Juliet. I had been given directions from my daughters, who had visited Verona a few years earlier, but directions over the phone don’t really work when you are standing in the middle of a very busy piazza. So, I looked and wandered and wandered and wandered. The best part of not really knowing where you are going is that you come across other interesting things to look at.

I did find a building with a sign, “Casa di Cagnolo Nogarola – già detta di Romeo”, roughly translated as “formerly known as Romeo’s house”. Thinking I had found Romeo’s house, I stopped to have a look. A kindly Italian shopkeeper across the road indicated that I should go around the corner to Romeo’s house. I kept walking, but I was happy with the house I had found, complete with a Juliet balcony above the street.

Eventually, I found the statue of Juliet, which I had unknowingly walked past several times. It was in a courtyard off the main street, and I only found it because I wondered why so many people were lined up. I could see Juliet’s statue at the end of the queue. People were taking selfies with Juliet, standing on the base of her statue and touching her breast. As I only wanted to see her and not touch her breast, I walked past them and managed to take a selfie with just Juliet. Quest successful.

I walked back up the pink marble street, which was also home to all the high-end brands. A girl has to shop when it is presented to her, and the air conditioning was a bonus. After roaming through these lovely shops, I headed back to the hotel to get ready for the opera.

A Night at The Opera

It was an experience sitting in the Arena, wondering how many people had sat there before me as it was built so long ago. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a performance of the actual opera Carmen, but a choir and two opera singers performing songs from Carmen. I was disappointed that I wasn’t seeing the opera I had expected, but I still enjoyed the experience of being in the Arena.

Originally, I had only planned to stay for two nights in Verona, but I was enjoying the ambience of the city so much that I decided to stay another night.

The next day, I bought a ticket for a hop-on hop-off bus with two different routes and enjoyed both tours.

Against my better judgement, I decided to have dinner at a restaurant beside Piazza delle Erbe. I prefer to eat at restaurants a little away from the crowds, but there I was. I knew I had made a mistake when they said they didn’t have any Chianti, my favourite Italian wine. After my meal, I walked back to the Arena square. Eventually, I found a glass of Chianti and sat watching the world go by before heading back to the hotel.

I hadn’t realised that the hotel had a wellness spa. I love spas. The next day, after more wandering around Verona, I visited the hotel’s spa. I had never had a spa completely to myself before. There was a Turkish steam room, which I loved, a sauna and, up a few stairs, a spa bath. There were deck chairs and a jug of refreshing water with orange slices. You could also make tea. I was in heaven. What a perfect way to end my stay in this captivating city.

Ciao Verona

All good things must come to an end, they say. I was catching an 11 pm train that would arrive in Vienna the following morning. Travelling overnight was something we did in my backpacking days because it saved on a night’s accommodation. This time, my reason was different. The train went directly to Vienna and I didn’t have to change trains.

When I went to my allocated seat, which I hadn’t realised was in a six-seat cabin, the door was locked and the curtains were closed.

 I asked myself, is this the correct cabin?  Why yes, yes, it is.  I knocked again.

When someone eventually opened the door, there were four women inside who had laid the seats down and were looking very comfortable, ready to sleep.

Then a woman came out of another cabin and told me they all wanted to be together. I looked at her, wondering if she expected me to go somewhere else. When I didn’t move, the women left the cabin.

I was later joined by two Scandinavian lads who had been camping. Early in the morning, with a few hours still to go before Vienna, everyone started moving about the train. I remember the lads making their breakfast with a baguette and fillings.

I couldn’t help but smile. Sitting on a European night train with other travellers, heading to their next adventure, reminded me of my backpacking days.

Thank you for reading. Follow along @roamingwithleila for more travel stories and adventures.

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