Verona Italy – Our Romeo & Juliet Inspired Adventure
Verona, Italy… A trip to see Romeo and Juliet
As a travelling couple who has been falling in love with the beauty, food, culture and romance of Italy, it seemed only natural for Hannah and I to make a stop in Verona!
After 3 trains, a taxi, and getting a little work done along the way… we made it to Verona!
There are a few simple things that make us really happy… getting to experience new places and new things, and fast internet. The Airbnb we had for our Verona stay, was BOTH! It’s the little things 🙂
First things first: grab some pizza! You can never have too much pizza when you’re in Italy right? Well… maybe you can… if it’s what you’re getting every day.
EXPLORING VERONA ITALY
In Italy, one thing that’s not hard to do is wander around and eat delicious food. Sometimes it’s difficult to find different types of food other than Italian (which, makes sense in a way) but there is always something beautiful to see and scrumptious to eat! I especially love gelato 🙂 It’s nice when that can be done on the fly and without a definite plan.
Juliet’s Balcony
One thing we couldn’t miss while in beautiful Verona, the infamous Juliet’s balcony!
Casa di Giulietta, is a real 13th-century house in Verona, Itlay that once belonged to the Capello family. It’s even said that a Juliet once lived there. Was this the actual Juliet from Romeo and Juliet? Well… since Shakespeare never visited Verona and the story is made up it’s unlikely. BUT, the family and beautiful house with a balcony over the courtyard could have been an inspiration for the characters.
Even though the site may only be loosely related to the well-known Shakespeare play, it’s now a well-visited tourist attraction. There’s even a statue of Juliet that is visibly worn where tourists and romantics come to touch it. There’s also a superstition/tradition has even developed saying that if you 2 lovers leave a note with their name on it Juliet will cast a spell for their love to last for eternity (hopefully, without dying tragically within a week of knowing each other…).
Teatro Romano Verona, Italy
On our wanderings about, we found an old historical site built into the hillside that turned out to be the Roman Theater in Verona (thanks, Siri!). It was up on a hill, and so we did some exploring to find the great views from the top! From the looks of things, the theatre is still in use as well.
With a little research, we learned the original buildings were built about 1 B.C., and that there is an archaeological museum within it now as well. On your way up there are alters, inscriptions, and mosaics along the way. And turns out, they do have musical concerts in the summers. Now that would be a sight to see!
Once we got to the top the views were absolutely GORGEOUS. Amazing view of the city! And that’s my favourite part of an adventure.
Castel San Pietro
Moving on from the Roman Theater, we were determined to find the castle at the top of the hill. We thought we had to go through the theatre to get there (also the main reason we ended up in the archaeological museum, which it turned out we didn’t need to go through), but there was an around the corner staircase we needed. Also… turns out we could have driven up! But where’s the fun in that…
Sadly, we couldn’t go in the castle itself. But the views were once again amazing and you could see the entire city down below! Definitely on the recommended if you’re headed to Verona list.
Just be careful when you’re sitting on the edge of the wall trying to get a great pic… it’s a bit slippery and a loooong way down. Nothing like a tiny bit of danger 😉
After that our Verona missions were complete, and the rest of the day was filled with wandering, hunting down water to drink (the real mission, it was HOT) finding food, and of course… more gelato!
Must say, great time exploring the Italian city that inspired the romance of Romeo and Juliet. Thankfully, our time there was much less tragic.
Random Travel Insights
Crosswalks
This may not seem like a big thing, but travelling to different countries on different continents we’ve learned to tread carefully on crosswalks/pedestrian croasings until we find out how they work in that country. Mainly, do the citizens regularly stop for them and let people cross? Or ignore them, and so you need to be prepared for a live action version of that Frogger video game? Thankfully, in Italy, they work 🙂
There are always little things like this that you don’t think much of until you start travelling and are caught by surprise when things don’t work as expected (and you nearly get run over).
Drinks
Sometimes you can give yourself a bit of a surprise when ordering a cocktail in other countries. For example, ordering a gin and tonic in Italy and they’ll come by with a nice glass with your drink, ice, and even a lemon wedge in it. But hold on for a second, it’s highly likely your mixer is coming separately! If you’re expecting it to be in there, can be quite a surprise when you take a big sip of pure gin 😉
More Reading & Resources:
- How To Start A Blog For The Price Of A Coffee
- Camera, Drone and Gear List I Use
- How I Earn A Living While Traveling Full-Time
- Additional Travels and Suggestions
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