In fair Verona, where we lay our scene

We decided to spend the night in Verona because the trip there takes over three hours. We tried to set up a couchsurf, but it was pretty short notice. Instead, we decided to stay in a B&B. The place was not unique in any way, but it was nice enough. And we were the only people there, so we used the kitchen facilities to cook dinner in house. Here's Rowan devouring a mango.We arrived at lunch time, so before we started wandering the town, we stopped for pizza. Horse meat is a regional specialty in that part of Italy, and I could have gotten it on my pizza. I didn't, but I sort of regret not trying it.

One of the main attractions in Verona is Juliet's house (they call it Giulietta's house), which is the Capulet family home and supposedly the setting for Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. In the background is the balcony from the play, or so the people here believe.The hallway leading to the balcony is covered with love notes.We didn't have pen and paper with us, so we didn't add to the mass of love.

Another interesting feature of the house is a statue of Juliet. One of the touristy things to do is to get photographed with one's hand over Juliet's breast.Notice what this does to the bronze on the statue.While we wandered the town, we encountered a bakery with a Nutella fountain. Fortunately, Rowan didn't dip her entire head in to it.One of the city's attractions is the Castelvecchio, literally "old castle." We popped in at night and encountered some sort of art show, if this could be called art.I said out loud that it was horrible, and Rowan immediately shushed me. The word is almost the same in Italian, and the artist may have been standing right behind me.

Here is the display as it appeared juxtaposed against the castle. Definitely a weird dichotomy.The city features a lot of Roman architecture, including an arena.Rowan kept pointing out where the gladiators would have exited, which led to me repeatedly saying, "Are you not entertained?"

Verona truly is a beatiful city, with amazing architecture wherever you look.
We decided to end our Verona experience in a very un-Italian way: we went for lunch at a German restaurant. Notice the waitress in the background, dressed in traditional German peasant garb. (She did speak Italian, though.)The experience led me to talk endlessly about a German restaurant back home. Our meal was good, though. We got the veggie buffet paired with big steins of Kellerbier.Sated and perhaps slightly tipsy, we walked to the train station and boarded the train for the three-hour trip home.

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For more pictures from the trip, visit http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=57789&l=0da2f&id=547792060.