Stramba

Stramba

Friday, May 28, 2010

A little rain never hurt anybody...





Okay, Verona wasn’t like I remember it. Or at least parts of it are not as I remember. Especially, THE SHOPPING! My inner desire took over today and purchased half of Verona… I have no regrets. I got a lot of cute clothing and a pair of shoes. The fact that I can say I got it from Italy makes me feel so suave. ha. The best part is that the rain and thunder didn’t impede my spending whatsoever. AND believe it or not, my family was without an umbrella. Yes, yes I know… my hair and jeans were slightly drenched, but I was on a mission. I walked into Verona’s version of Macy’s and bought a coat. To my surprise, Hello Kitty is quite a thing here in Italy and it just so happens my credit card has her on it. The cashiers at the department store went bonkers over it. I feared I might not get it back at one point, but I finally was able to complete my transaction and be on my way. The marketplaces and piazzas here are filled with fresh fruit & vegetables, souvenirs, clothing stores, jewelry, paintings, morano glass and so much more.

Now that I’ve gotten ahead of myself, let me tell you about what we did today- other than shopping. We began with a tour of the city of Verona, beginning at St. Anatasia’s church (which is literally the neighbor to our hotel). We then walked to the River that surrounds the inner part of Verona. It flooded in the 1880s and was so high it filled the first level of most homes, apartments and buildings. YIKES! We were also able to see some archeological discoveries from the last 20 years and the arena where gladiators competed and operas were held long ago. However, believe it or not, the Arena is still used during the summer here in Verona! Ha. Rod Steward will be performing in the Arena in June. The best part of our tour was seeing Romeo’s home, which has been well kept and has ristorantes on its first floor. Juliet’s balcony and home is also nearby. Jenny and I say Letters to Juliet a while ago (at a screening) and it is a little different than the movie. You see, people basically tag the walls leading to her home and what isn’t tagged is covered with love notes, letters or simple ____ loves ____ forever notes. And the grossest part is that people use gum to stick their notes up on the wall. Ugh. Talk about germs. In the movie Letters to Juliet, they put up a fake wall in front of these tagged walls to make it look more cleanly and unlike the movie, this area is constantly full of people- young and old. I didn’t tack up a note for obvious reasons, however my sister did. I gave her hand sanitizer right after. In the center of this small piazza there is a statue of Juliet. It is said- if one touches the right breast and rubs in circular motion 3 times it is good luck in love/romance. Whether this is true or not…well…I think a man made that up, simply as an excuse to touch a statues boob.

Oh and by the way, Verona’s cuisine includes donkey and horse! YUCK! Can you imagine ordering…..Yes sir, can I please have a piece of ass for dinner? Literally? Or figuratively? HAHA.

1 comment:

  1. girl, you are only in Verona once!!!!!!!!!!!! You BETTER eat that Donkey and Horse!!!!!!!!!!!

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