Verona, Italy

Verona Verona, what a beautiful city to start off our Thanksgiving road trip.  We drove through the Alps the previous evening having spent the night near the top of the Brenner pass in Vipiteno before heading down into Verona.  Verona's main attractions are its UNESCO recognized Roman architectural ruins, pedestrian-only ambience, world class opera festival, and "home" to the saga of the two star-crossed lovers-Romeo & Juliet.  Keep reading and take some of our recommendations!

We had parked outside of town because driving in the city is only for residents.  Thanks to my navigation skills (or not) we got to the parking structure in a round about way, but nevertheless we made it there.  Once parked, we headed to town to explore.  We stumbled upon a little gem that reminded me of how I had forgotten the taste of real tomato sauce.  The pizza at Rita tastes was good as it looks!  The dough-crispy, the texture-perfect, and everything was made with passion.   We shared a salami and mozzarella slice, and a pear with gorgonzola.

So many delicious looking choices

Both were delicious, and Bode's head made a great crumb holder.

We started out our self-guided walking tour at the Piazza Brà. A generation ago this piazza was noisy with cars and now it is open and people-friendly.  Little kids riding their bikes around, and others out on an afternoon stroll. 

We took a stop to read about some of the sculptures (and for a diaper change) in the park.  Little guy trying to wake up...

The fountain called "The Alps" was a gift to Verona from Munich, which is just over the mountains to the north.   In the middle of the fountain there are symbols of the two cities separated by the Alps, carved out of pink marble from the region. 

You can't miss the ancient arena looming over the piazza dating back to the Roman times. Most of the stone around the arena is still original, dating back to the first century A.D.  Over the centuries crowds of up to 25,000 spectators have cheered Roman gladiator battles, raved at medieval executions, and sung along to Andrea Bocelli concerts-all taking advantage of the great acoustics.

Where the street splits is the Devotional Column.  In the Middle Ages, this column blessed the marketplace that was held here. 

We walked down Via Mazzini to the Piazza Erbe and were welcomed by a bustling square of shops and stalls.  The square itself is beautiful, back in the day Renaissance nobles showed off the finely painted facades on their homes, and in the 16-th century Verona was named "the painted city"... I think I know why.

 Love the balconies 

 We wandered through the market stalls of the street selling souvenirs  of all kind

In the middle of the square is the fountain that has bubbled for over 2,000 years, the statue is of Verona's Madonna.  She holds a small banner that reads, "The city of Verona deserves respect and justice."

We came across a Christmas market...Little Bode slept through all the fun

We continued walking until we saw the exotic and very Gothic 14th-centry tombs of the Scaligeri family who once ruled Verona.  The Scaligeri were to Verona what the Medici family were to Florence, so you can imagine how important they were.  Their tombs are built atop pillars, and they are arranged to be looked up to, even in death. 

I loved the wrought iron gates

Our feet kept walking to the waterfront to see the Ponte Pietra and riverfront.  

About 200 yards from where we were was the Duomo, which was started in the 12th-century, and built over a period of several hundred years. This place is painted from head to toe!

Our last stop on our Verona walk before we were hungry for dinner was the house of Juliet. The tiny, admittedly romantic courtyard is a spectacle of tourists posing on the balcony and in line ready to polish Juliet's boob.

 Romeo, oh Romeo, where art though Romeo...

Our dinner was quite a hit, we were really looking forward to our Thanksgiving dinner.  It had previously been planned out a nice  fancy dinner at Trattoria Al Pompiere... Well it was an epic fail.  We got ready to go, Bode sleeping in his stroller, and by the time we got to dinner little man was going bizzerk.  We got settled at the restaurant and took turns calming Bode outside, but he was so inconsolable that we had to ditch the restaurant and take our fancy dinner back to the hotel to eat.

meanwhile...Bode slept soundly...

All in all we loved Verona, a great city and now onto the next! Padua!

Side notes:
-Bed and Breakfast stay:  (B&B Al Filarmonico)