On Wednesday morning, the dads headed back to Belgium. Unfortunately, being on the US payroll means very few vacation days. We were thankful they didn't mind that we stayed for the rest of the week. Okay, they might have minded a bit.
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| Chris soaked up the last bit of Italian sun and the amazing view. |
What should we do the rest of the week?? I really wanted to visit Verona. Why? Didn't you see Letters to Juliet? Verona looked magical in that movie. Since we were this close, I didn't feel like we could skip it. In 2.5 hours, we arrived!
Piazza Brà was impressive! It is wider than other piazzas we have seen. Cars are no longer allowed to drive through here, so it is a wonderful pedestrian area.
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| There is a Roman amphitheater right in the middle of the city! It dates back to the first century. It is now half as tall as it was when it was built. |
Thanks to the trusty Book of Rick...we started a walking tour from his Italy book. It was very informative and free! Yours truly was the narrator. I'm sure my kids were thrilled.....
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| That sun was a little bright for these folks who aren't used to bright sunshine in Belgium. |
Below is the main entrance to Roman Verona. Back in the day, this was a toll booth.
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| Look closely...Thomas and Allison are standing in the arches. |
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| Right outside the gate, and between two tables at a cafe, is a tombstone. The roads outside the city used to be lined with tombstones because burials were not allowed in the city. |
Piazza Erbe
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| Verona was nicknamed "the painted city" because Renaissance nobles showed off by finely painting their facades on their palaces. Some paintings can still be seen today. |
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| There has been a fountain bubbling in this piazza for 2,000 years. |
The House of Juliet
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| It has never been proved there was a Juliet Capulet. But, this courtyard and balcony are dedicated to her. We were amazed by the amount of graffiti. People wanting to leave a little bit of themselves behind. |
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Juliet's balcony!
In the movie Letters to Juliet, there is a group of women who answer letters addressed to Juliet. In many cases, these letters are from women who are desperate to find love, broken hearted, and need advice. There really is a group of women who do this! Now, this movie might be the most predictable movie I have ever seen, but oh my word, is it romantic. Just watch it for fun. You won't be disappointed. In fact, we made the kids watch it that night, and they loved it! Thank you Apple TV! |
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| The courtyard is not as clean and quiet as it is in the movie. A little more chaotic with tons of tourists. Just trying to keep Europe real here. It's not always clean and beautiful. |
For luck, you are supposed to "polish" Juliet's breast. The boys thought that was GREAT!
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| Even Flat Sawyer thought so! |
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| We couldn't resist! It was totally worth the 5 euro each to grab a picture of the four of them on the balcony. When are we ever going to have this opportunity again??? |
Moving right along on the walking tour and back to Piazza Erbe.
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| A wale's rib hanging over a doorway reminding the townspeople there is a big world out there! |
Piazza del Signori
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| The Italian poet Dante |
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| A Renaissance road |
Church of Sant'Anastasia
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| The outside of the cathedral was never finished, but the inside is magnificent! |
We loved these poor guys holding up the holy water basins.
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| This gives you an idea of just how big the columns and church really are. |
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| Love. These. Windows! |
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| A view from Ponte Pietra that is made of stones from the original Roman bridge that stood here. |
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| A gelato stop...of course! |
Karin and I went inside the amphitheater, but the kids weren't interested, so we let them wait outside. It was much less exciting than the Colosseum, so they made a wise choice. Even though I wasn't willing to admit that to them at the time. :)
Verona was just as terrific as I hoped it would be. If you are ever in Venice or Lake Como, be sure to find your way over to Verona. It's worth the trip!
Until next time,
Wendy
