Verona, disappointing but great people

Trip Start Jun 08, 2008
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Trip End Dec 08, 2008


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Where I stayed
Othello Hostel
(Verona hotels)

Flag of Italy  , Veneto,
Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Verona was going to prove to be one of those cities that was either going to really hit or really miss. Unfortually it was a bit of a miss in my eyes. Not that it isn't a great city and not that it doesn't have a great deal of charm, it was just like every other Italian city. I arrived at my hostel which again I didn't have booked but it ended up to be really easy to find and they had plenty of room. I love traveling in the off season for that reason alone, nobody around anymore. The only problem with the hostel is that they lock you out of your room from 9:00am to 5:00pm. This means, if it is raining, you are trying depreratly to find a dry place to hang out. Fortuanlly I didn't have this problem, it was dry but very muggy and foggy in the city. Did a little walking tour, on my own and stopped for a bite to eat. It finally came to after 5:00pm so I headed back to the hostel.

I met up with this young bloke from England. He was planning to study in Verona for at least a year. His only problem was he was having a really hard time finding a place to rent. He had been in the hostel for about 2 weeks now and was getting really sick and tired of it. We chatted for a bit and then he asked if I wanted to go see a Choir preform at one of the many churches in the city. I was totally game for a little culture. That is when we met up with Manny. Another AUSSIE, I know, they are the only people traveling right now. The three of us went out and saw the most amazing choir.

Young people from Hungary on a European tour. Ages from 15 to 25, full orchastra made for a very enjoyable evening. The best part was, it was totally free. 2 hours of great music in a great venue. After the concert we headed out for a glass of wine and called it night only because our hostel had a 11:00pm curfew. They can make these stupid rules only beacuse they are the only hostel in town.

The next moring, Alabaster was headed back out on the town to try and find a place to live. Manny and I took to the streets to find something to look at. Verona is one of those cities that was hard to find something different.

We took a tour of the Arena. A roman coloseum built for gladiators and operas. Still used today for concerts and during the opera season. Not as impressive as the Colesum in Rome but it was still worth the look. The seats were still in tact and you could really picture what goes on in the building. The coloseum in Rome was quite the opposite, most of it ruins and without a tour it would be very hard to figure out what most of it is.

We only had a couple more stops, a piazza in the center of town known for their shopping and the famous balcony. Verona was the setting for Romeo and Juliet and Shakespear took a lot of his ideas from actual places in the city. The most famous spot is the Balcony of Juliet. As you walk through the gate into the court yard the walls are covered with graffiti, mainly from tourists, confessing their love on notes and paint. When you arrive at the famous balcony a staute of Juliet is places beneath it. The tale goes, if you carress her right breast you will have good luck in love. Manny and I were not going to pass up this opportunity. We stood beside the borze statue and grabbed hold. Getting a few laughs from the crowd made it all worth while.

We had lunch, and just walked the city for the rest of the afternoon, toured some churches and just killed a day. I decided that 2 nights was going to be plenty in Verona and I was very much looking forward to Switzerland so I was going to head off the next day.

When we got back to the hostel, Alabaster had returned from his house hunting with no success. He asked if we wanted to head back out that night and see another concert. Again, a Hungarian group, ages 8-13. It was so cool to see the kids. A completly different type of concert from the night before. Again, another night of culture, not a bad thing. We were back at the hostel right after the show because of that damn curfew. Called it a night knowing I was headed to the mountains, I had no idea the beauty that Switzerland holds........................
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