Verona

The train from Genoa to Verona on Sunday arrived around 1PM.  It took us some time to find our hotel after we asked directions from someone who pointed us in the wrong direction.  We were both tired and frustrated, but it was hard to stay bitter for long in such a beautiful city. Our hotel was not far from Piazza Bra', where there is an impressive coliseum from the 1st Century A.D. that arguably rivals the one in Rome. Actually, it is the third largest Amphitheatre in Europe after the Coliseum in Rome and the Amphitheatre in Campania (but whose counting).

After we checked in, Pam and I went for a walk in down the fashionable via Mazzini to Piazza delle Erbe.  We enjoyed an extended lunch in the warm afternoon sun before finally summoning the motivation to walk over to ponte Pietra.  The sun, the food, and the three days of traveling were starting to catch up to us.  So, we decided to go back to the hotel for a 10 minute nap, which somehow turned into three hours.  We woke up at 9PM and headed out to find something to eat.  During our afternoon walk, we noticed an adorable little restaurant in the shadow of the arena not more than a block from our hotel.  There was a free table outside, so we jumped at it.  The setting could not have been better!  It was a great way to end the night.

The next morning we walked over to the coliseum and bought tickets to go inside.  Operas and plays are still held there, and it looked like they were setting up for a new performance.  Pretty cool. (See video).  Could you imagine watching Romeo and Juliet in an ancient amphitheatre...in Verona, no less!  We will have to check the summer schedule. :)  

Anyway, we couldn't get enough of Verona so we decided to explore a bit more before our 2:15PM train back to Bern. I wanted to see Titian's "Assumption" (1530) in the Il Duomo (I actually remembered it from my art history class in college, if you can believe that). But when we walked into the church, we realized they were in the middle of mass! It was a surreal -- some would even say religious -- experience to observe mass in such a beautiful church with its tall vaulted arches and impressive marble pillars. Of course, I couldn't resist taking a little video clip. Shhhhh...don't tell anyone!

After mass, we walked back to Piazza Bra' for a couple of drinks, and then on to the station where the train was waiting to take us home.  Overall, Italy was a wonderful experience with so many great memories.  And we are so very grateful to have had the opportunity to visit.