Travel in Italy – Leaving Verona

Monday May 7

It’s a gorgeous day in Verona. The sun is shining and it is supposed to be in the low 70’s. After breakfast and my morning cappuccino Sue and I walked to Piazza Bra to get the Hop On Hop Off bus to tour the city of Verona.

Verona is a much bigger city compared to the lake towns of Verona and Bellagio. Verona has 250,000 people and is very modern and exceptionally clean.

For 19 euros the bus tour is a great deal because you can do the entire route and see the main highlights of the town and get on and off as often as you wish. There are two separate routes so you can see the everything in two hours.Later we got off at Piazza delle Erbe and walked to Juliet’s balcony and browsed around.

We also stayed at a sanctuary high on a hill where the view of Verona is awesome. It was very peaceful there and there was a cool breeze.

We actually decided to have a panini there and it was inexpensive and so good. sue was happy because they even had mustard, but I had to use my dictionary to learn the Italian word, which is senape.

Verona is full of history and I love how you can see the ancient walls and arched entrances still standing in many parts of the city. The Verona Arena dates back to the 1st century B.C. and is the venue for the Verona Summer Opera.

Tuesday May 8

The last day in Verona and I am catching up on writing. Later we take the last train of this trip to Rome, where we will stay overnight an then board the Norwegian Epic tomorrow for a Mediterranean cruise. It will be great to have a place to call home for a week and not have to pack and unpack every few days. I doubt if I will have access to wi-fi during that time so check back next week for photos and updates!

Just before it was time to call a taxi I stopped in at Cafe Vero which was just down the block from the hotel and the same place Sue and I stopped for lunch today.

They knew me since I was also in there last night ordering a margherita pizza for takeout. I got two ham and fontina cheese sandwiches and two coke zeros to take on the train. I wanted something sweet too and after a conversation in Italian, the man who made the pizza last night told the waitress to give me the sweets for free since Iwas such a spettacolo customer!

The train ride to Rome is three hours with a stop in Bologna and one in Florence but no changing of trains. It’s a good thing since the luggage seems heavier than when I left Florida.

I feel like I want to add that you do not see photos of Sue on my blog at her request so I am honoring that. She is a great travel companion because she is always positive and happy! I am really glad she is traveling with me.