Verona

We made a reasonably early start and headed into town - a 30 minute walk away from the apartment. We passed through the Porta Vescovo gate which is the entry through the outer wall of Verona.

We then crossed the Fiume Adige. The river was flowing very fast due to recent heavy rains in the Alps. From there we walked toward the Piazza Erbe passing next to Casa di Giulietta and Casa di Romeo. There were big crowds there. Nearby is the Torre dei Lamberti which we ascended later in the day from where you get a great view out over the city. Fortunately it has a lift.

We stopped for coffee and a snack and then made our way to the tourist office where we purchased the "Verona" card which allowed for entry into a number of the historic monuments. With the card in hand we headed to the Anfiteatro Arena. The Verona Arena is a Roman amphitheatre in Piazza Bra in Verona built in the first century. It is still in use today and is internationally famous for the large-scale opera performances given there. That night there would be a performance of Aida.

After that we stopped for Pizza and beer. After that we visited San Fermo Maggiore - a church built in Romanesque style in central Verona that had both an upper and underground lower church beneath.

We caught taxi back to the apartment and freshened up.

Just after 7 pm we were met by work colleagues of Jeed from her time in London 14 years ago at Travel 2 -Laura Perbelini and her English partner Jonathon. They drove us to her parents house in the village of Bovolone about 30 minutes outside of Verona in the country side. Laura's parents who between the 2 of them could barely speak any English were very kind and had prepared a home cooked family meal for us. Before then we had a tour through their pastries shop and factory downstairs from their apartment above. The meal was superb. Before going home we were given a tour of Laura's father personal art gallery. He is a very keen painter and teaches traditional painting in the Byzantine religious style using tempura paints on wood.Laura gave us several beautifully packed samples from their shop before they drove us back to our apartment at midnight. Altogether it was a delightful evening.Read more