The Allisons

"In fair Verona, where we lay our scene..."


After Florence, Mom and I took a train to Verona. Because we missed our second train, we didn't have quite as much time as we had planned. We got there with just enough time to check into our hotel and find something to eat (which was a bit of an adventure in itself). In the morning, we had time to go to the Castel Vecchio for a quick tour. It was an Italian holiday so admission was free (who knew?). We took advantage and didn't really feel like we had to look and every single piece of art to get our money's worth. These two pictures were taken from the castle. There is snow on the mountain just above the trees in the first picture (it snowed a couple of days before) and the river is the Adige. The second picture is from the same spot; just another view of the city.
After our tour, we had to rush to the airport to pick up Matthew and Cathy McMichael.

We left our luggage at the train station so we could do a little more sightseeing before heading home. Matthew took this picture of Mom and me in front of the Arena (you can see it it the background between the trees.) It looks like a smaller Coliseum. It's the best preserved Roman arena in Italy. They still have operas here all through the summer. Operas performed in Verona are among the best in the world. We hope to come back to see one. (Yes, even Mike doesn't mind opera once in a while.)

We continued around the corner and ate at this little cafe. Mom took this picture of Cathy, Matthew, and me.

Matthew needed to go to a specific place and take a picture for one of his friends (his name is Dante Verona) so we headed to Piazza Dei Signori. On the way, we stumbled upon the house that supposedly belonged to the Capulet's. You could pay to go up to Juliet's balcony, but the tiny courtyard was super crowded. We settled for a picture and moved on.

After taking the wrong bus (twice) we ended up back at the train station and made our way back home.