"There is no world without Verona walls,
But purgatory, torture, hell itself.
Hence-banished is banish'd from the world,
And world's exile is death." - 1888-1891 Romeo and Juliet
Group Picture: Roman ArenaOn our second day in Verona, we visited the Roman Arena in the afternoon. This symbol of Verona was built in the 1st Century AD and has a seating capacity of 30,000 people. Currently, the arena is used as a venue for live performances, it was initially built for games during Roman times. During our visit, there were preparations for an upcoming show.
During our visit in Verona, we had lots of free time to explore the city or other activities. One of the popular venue was the Castello Vecchio. The castle was constructed in the 14th Century, and it was used as a military fortress. The Scaliger bridge is a popular attraction too.
One interesting thing about our visit in Verona is the free bicycle rental service that was offered by the hotel. Most of us took the bicycles out to ride in a group to explore the city. I had the pleasure of exploring the city on bicycle with my roommate, Joe, through the east side of the river (University of Verona campus and the Ponte Pietra) and the Castle Vecchio with Amanda.
Scaliger BridgeOne of the specialty in Verona is the delicious food, especially the meats. Well, generally, the food in Italy is great, but Verona's food is significantly better than the cities that we have visited. Joe, Melinda, Christina (a.k.a. CC), Ross and I had a delicious meal at a nice local restaurant, they served us delicious prosciutto, octopus, horse, roast pork, and many more.
Tagliere: Prosciutto, Salami and assorted local cheese.Tomorrow morning, we will be departing for Venice with an en route stop at Padova, a city that is located 37km from Venice. Looking forward to the Gondolas, Ponte di Rialto, et.c in Venezia (Venice).
The famous verses (at the beginning of the blog post) from Romeo and Juliet is engraved on the Bra gates.
-C.L.
