SOLO EURO II: DAY 4 & 5...PARTIALLY [VERONA & PADOVA]

one of my favorite cities i visited in italy was verona, which for me was a day trip from venice. in verona there is so much to see, it is picturesque, and it is super walkable. i did not take public transportation once. i bought the verona card which covers admission to most of the sites for 24 hours. i ended up visiting more places than planned because it was free, which added so much more to my visit. overall, the city feels so romantic with the influence of shakespeare, a castle, the ancient buildings, and the crystal clear adige river. 

the pastel buildings surrounding the verona arena.

the first stop was the verona arena, which to be honest, i enjoyed so much more than the colosseum in rome i saw the week after. this may be due to visiting it during the beginning of my trip and therefore having that initial "aha" moment. the verona arena is also less busy than the colosseum & you are able to walk up the steps. unlike the colosseum, the arena was used for shows & games, but not gladiator stuff. today it is used for performances, especially opera.

the roman arena (c. 30 ad)

it was such a neat experience to walk the steps & through some of the corridors.

after, i strolled through the avenues to my next site. most are filled with fancy designer stores

the next stop was casa di guillietta. if you do not know, this tourist trap is known as the "location" where romeo declared his love for juliet in shakespeare's romeo & juliet. no matter how cheesy i knew this site would be, this was a must for me. in high school i was exposed to the epic masterpiece of baz luhrmann's romeo+juliet (still one of my favorite movies of all time). when i think back to high school, one of my fondness moments is reading romeo and juliet in the 9th grade (including memorizing and reciting the intro, which i still remember) & watching the movie.

the famous statue (where everyone touches her boob) & THE balcony above.

now for the truth, juliet was not a real person & therefore there was no balcony nor house. i know, tragic. that still does not mean that you should skip a visit. i am so glad i went, but i would recommend getting there early as it can get super packed. i got there early, had no problems, & was able to get my photos pretty easily, but by the time i left, it was packed like a tin of sardines! the god awful busses had arrived. 

inside is a museum that talks about the story & includes props (including the bed) from the 1968 movie. i was really hoping that they had some props from the baz luhrmann adaptation, but they did not. also some rooms are set up to show how the characters would have lived at the time (i do not believe it is very accurate). at the end of the museum, you can write a letter to juliet which i do not really understand. i know this is a fake story from hundreds of years ago, but spoiler alert, she kills herself.  

the bed from the 1968 movie adaptation.

piazza della erbe, where the ancient roman forum was located.

weird tidbit, but i have a theory that it is not normal to have seedless grapes in italy. 

torrei dei lamberti & piazza dei signori

the next stop was the lamberti tower, which was part of the verona card. it was extra to take the elevator, so i took the stairs to the top (84 m). it was not too bad.

the view from the top

piazza dei signori also has a whale rib hanging from one of the bridges. it has been hanging there since at least the 1700s & nobody really knows why it's there.

this is "romeo's house."

     

gargoyles at santa anastasia church

i was brave & ate at my first sit-down restaurant. the waitress was very nice, as i was nervous trying to navigate it all. unfortunately they did not have what i wanted (pesto, duh) but i ended up getting chicken curry with rice at her recommendation (i thought this was random). it was fine. 

as the day was warm & muggy, i ended up ordering my first caffe shakerato of the trip. if you do not know, italians rarely use ice to accompany beverages. this also means that iced coffee drinks are rare & really only for tourists. if you want a cold, italian coffee drink, the most common is a caffe shakerato. sounds fancy, but it's not. it is espresso shaken with ice in a tumblr & poured in a glass (without the ice). the baristas will sweeten it for you or sometimes add cocoa powder or flakes on top. because of the shaking, the top will normally have a layer of froth. also, because of the labor involved, they are significantly more expensive than a caffe (or espresso).

also when eating at restaurants in italy, it is common to have a bread charge, or "pane e coperto." we do not have this concept in the united states. this is a cover charge, ranging from euro 1.50 to 5, and is accompanied by a bread basket or some nibbles. the waiter won't ask, so you will always be charged this unless you say something otherwise. because of this, i learned to take advantage of this custom. because i eat alone & would get a whole bread basket to myself, i would always take a few slices in my purse. i'm cheap like that & you are paying for it anyways, right?

an ancient ruin. this was the view from where i ate.

the next & last stop was castelvecchio, the "old castle." this was the best way to end the day. i discovered during my last international trip that i really enjoy castles. i think being an american & from a country that does not have castles, i find them so magical & fantastical. i really like visiting and imagining the people from 100s of years ago walking the same floors. this is really why i like visiting historic sites in general, but castles man, they are special. 

castelvecchio (c. 1376, gothic)

the medieval castle is now a museum. most of it is an art museum with paintings, sculptures, & decor. my favorite part was walking the ramparts (for most castles it is). i was able to listen to an old man playing guitar below, which was nice.

the ramparts

this was also the first time i ran into a squat toilet. i really did not think i would see any of these during this trip (spoiler alert, this was not a single occurance) & had never experienced one before. i was waiting in line and this older english speaking lady said, "well, that was an experience." i had no idea what she was referring to until i walked in. not much more to say about that.

the castelveccio bridge. it was rebuilt after being destroyed in wwii. the waters are so pretty.

and that was the end of the day for me. i then took the train back to venice & went straight to the hostel.

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the next day was a quick visit to padova. i decided to trek outside of venice again (a quick 30 minute train ride) to see a smaller city & the botanical garden, as this seemed to be the most interesting botanical garden i found in italy. it turned out to be skippable. padova, also called padua, is known for its university, being the location of shakespeare's the taming of the shrew, and where st. anthony died.

good day princess. 5 minutes later i was told off for walking in the bike path, oops.

while walking to my first site, i ran into one of the schools of the university of padua. i walked down the corridors & end ended up listening to a college lecture in italian. what was being discussed? i have no clue. 

the first stop was the ragione palace, a medieval town hall. up until the 1700s it was a city council hall & palace of justice. inside is the debtor's stone, otherwise known as the "stone of shame," where those who committed small social crimes would sit and be publicly shamed. also, there is a giant wooden horse that was built in 1466.

ragione palace (c. 1219), one of the largest medieval halls in the world. outside was a little market.

the frescoes depict astrological signs & zodiacs.

i was also brave and bought my first produce in an italian grocery store. most places were stands & i was not brave enough to try as i heard that at stands you don't touch the fruit. instead, the worker touches it & weighs it. i found this much conversation too intimidating. this time i found a little grocery store & had to watch other people first to learn the process. first you grab your fruit & use a scale to input the thing you are buying, then a bar code is printed which you place on the produce or bag, & finally you scan it at the self service registers. you then have to scan your receipt so the doors can open for you to leave. i don't know if it is always done like this, but in all the grocery stores i went to in italy it was. it was an experience.

my barcode banana 

the astrological clock & a market in front of it. i ended up buying a cheap scarf.

monochromatic alley.

the next and last stop was orto botanico, the first university botanical garden still in the it's original location (c. 1545). like i said before, this was what drove me to visit padova. honestly i don't know what i was expecting but it was "aight." i've been to other botanical gardens & really enjoyed them and it was not like this was one was necessarily boring. instead i think i just was not in the mood for it.

there were so many cats. 

the one thing i really wish i knew before visiting was the mint coffee pedrocchi. i love coffee & mint so it would have been fun to try. oh well. i then spent the rest of the day in venice, which you can find HERE.

now for a song! i have to choose my favorite song from baz luhrmann's romeo + juliet. also on a side note, i've been really enjoying the norwegian show skam, which refers to the movie several times & uses this song in an infamous slo-mo scene. i watched part of the french adaption & am noe currently watching the flemish one. anyhoo, i just love the intro to radiohead's "talk show host" so much. enjoy!