Our day trip to Verona seemed to be plagued with problems at first. It started off with Val dropping her cell phone in the toilet and then I fell, tripping on an uneven stone, on my way to the train station. I am getting use to doing face plants in front of crowds of people. It is a humbling experience. I was just happy that this time I did not have a dress on. Just as we walked through the porta into the city of love, down I went again. As I saw my ankle give way, and bending in a way that it shouldn't, all I could think about was to shift the weight of my body so that it would not snap. A broken ankle most certainly would not fit into the busy schedule that I had worked out for us for the day. Poor Libby must have felt like she was riding in a roller coaster. After brushing off my pants, and taking a few deep breaths, we began our exploration of Verona with map in hand.
Verona is a beautiful city full of colour and life. The buildings are covered with intricate iron work and frescoes. Verona has a magnificent coliseum built in 30AD. Arena di Verona is the third largest coliseum in Italy. Plays and operas are held in the coliseum during the summer months.
While it is not clear whether Romeo and Juliet ever really existed, nevertheless we headed to Casa di Giulietta with our "letters to Juliet" in hand. It is said that if you rub the breast of the statue of Juliet that it will bring you good luck in love. Letters tucked into the door, breasts rubbed, off we went to explore the rest of Verona.
The churches in Verona are of course magnificent. As I stood outside the Duomo reading the fee schedule I noticed that there was a "family" rate. I then thought that it was a brilliant idea for Laura and I pretend to be lovers and then her, I and and Laura's daughter Alex could save money with the "family" rate. Val reminded me that it was a Catholic church that we were entering. Laughing hysterically I had to concede that this was not the time to test the definition of "family" here in Italy.
Throughout Verona there are many outdoor tombs. The Arche Scaliegere houses princes and city leaders. You might think that one would get tired of looking at the sculptures here in Italy, but you just don't because of the detail. Each and every time I find myself, who is incapable of molding something recognizable out of clay, in awe of the work.
As the sun was setting we walked along the Adige River. Libby and Sofia were pretty tired as our day came to an end. We were all exhausted, but it was a good kind of exhaustion - brought on by spending a really great day with friends. As we got off the train in Florence we all took a deep breath and in unison said, "Casa Dolce Casa". Then off for pizza we went. It just seemed fitting to end our day with a pizza made by our very special pizza men. While this Celtic woman celebrated St. Partick's Day touring the city of love with people that I love, in honour of St. Patrick I did wash my pizza down with a cold beer.
