We decided to leave Venice early in the morning instead of at night so we could spend a bit more time in Verona. We took the water bus to the station, changed our train reservation and were on our way to Verona. The train ride was around 1.5 hrs. long.
Once in Verona we walked to the old part of town where our hotel was located. After checking in we went to the arena, a massive Roman amphitheatre from the 1st century AD. Here is where wild animals once made a meal of gladiators, but today the entertainment in the arena is a bit friendlier. The venue is used for concerts, operas and ballet. Sadly nothing was playing that night, but we did enjoy walking around in the arena and we enjoyed the great view from the top.
We took a stroll down the traffic-free Via Mazzini, which is paved with pink-tinged local limestone embedded with ammonite fossils. Just absolutely beautiful! We spent the rest of the day walking around town and ended the night watching the worldcup final at a wonderful restaurant on the Piazza delle Erbe. Just a wonderful night with great soccer, interesting people watching, incredible food and wine.
After sleeping in a bit on our last day in Italy we walked to the Casa di Giulietta “Juliet’s House”, the 13th century home of the Shakespearean heroine. The courtyard walls were plastered with multilingual notes left by lovers from all over the world. From there we walked to the river, went across the medieval Ponte Scaligero, had some lunch and did some shopping on the Via Mazzini. We had a bit of time left before we had to catch our train to Switzerland so we walked around the city some more and stumbled across a great little store that was carrying lots of designer fashion from previous seasons. I found a trench coat that I had fallen in love with while watching a runway show a few seasons ago. The funny thing is that I went to Italy and I ended up buying Dsquared2. Here is a bit about Dsquared2 in case you aren’t familiar with these fabulous designers:
Canadian twin brothers Dean and Dan Caten have been in the international fashion business since 1984. After attending the Parsons School of Design they moved to Italy, launching a succession of runway shows that have captured attention for their combination of fashion, music and theatre. The mix of irreverent Canadian wit and refined Italian tailoring are the foundation of their philosophy. “BORN IN CANADA, LIVING IN LONDON, MADE IN ITALY”. I still can’t believe that I am the proud owner of an incredible Dsquared2 trench coat. Looks like Fall is here, so I will be able to finally wear it!
We were sad that our time in Italy had come to an end, but I was also super excited about seeing my family. The closer we were getting to Switzerland the more nervous I was getting. It had been almost 7 months since I had seen them. As soon as the train stopped in Brig, I jumped out and ran into my brother’s and A’s arms. I was so happy to see them.
Come back to read and see pictures of our time in Switzerland!
Ciao!
