Venice & Verona

Venice!! I thought it was one of the most attractive cities in Europe. Besides, I had heard that Venice was designated as a World Heritage Site. I am sorry to say this, if you have a plan to go there. Honestly, however, it turned out to be a big disappointment to me. I planed to stay there for one full day at first, but I changed my mind and left there before noon. First of all, the city was smelly and dirty. You could see a lot of graffiti on the walls around the city and might realize the garbages are scattered around. If you visited there, would you really feel Veinice was a beautiful city? In addition, things were very expensive, there were nothing special to see, and it was still crowded. When I dropped by a TI office, I asked for a city map, I was surprised that it cost 2.5 EUR. Of course, I didn't take it, but the event made me feel sick. Furthermore, the money exchangers take a hefty commission, as usual in Italian tourists spots. However, I had a reason to visit Venice. My mom asked me to buy a Venetian glass souvenir for her. A shop seller told me it was called Murano glass, which was made in Murano, a part of Venice. Although the city was disappointing, I liked its beautiful souvenirs like Murano glass and Venetian masks,but after I got a Murano glass saucer, I immediately left Venice for Verona.

Venice

Verona was a compact city, but more beautiful than Venice. The city itself was designated as a UNESCO's World Heritage. The first thing to do was to get a Verona Card for 8 euros. The TI office lady in the train station was very helpful and told me a lot about Verona attractions. Then I took a public bus to the city center for free, thanks to Verona Card. I got off in front of the amphitheater which was the third largest one in Italy. I didn't have to visit there, because I had a plan to go to the Colosseum in Rome, but the good atomosphere of the city led me to all the attractions in Verona. In particular, after Venice, I needed to relax in the beautiful city. The second destination was Juliet's house, Casa di Giulietta. As a matter of course, it was fictional. In front of the entrance, there was a statue of Juliet, which had a superstition that if you scrubbed her right breast, you got a new lover. Without hesitation, I scrubbed it. The balcony where Juliet appeared were attached on the house wall. I watched it from a window of the house for a while, waiting for a beautiful girl like Juliet appeared, but no luck. There were also Romeo's house, but I couldn't find it out even in the small city. I also visited a larage church and a grand ruin, which I don't remember their names. The most impressive thing in the ruin was I was greeted by a staff guard saying, "Thank you (for visiting)". I was glad to meet a sophisticated man even there in Italy.(I am sorry, if you are Italian and disturbed by my word.) Anyway, I was satisfied with Verona and understood why Japanese tours always stopped at Verona after Venice.

Juliet Statue in Verona

When I got back to Venice, I had one hour left before the night train to Zagreb. So I took some pictures of Venice in dusk and sat on a step in front of the station. There were a group of young British sitting next to me. After a while, an Italian came to them and tried to socialize, but they didn't like it and escaped. While I was traveling in Italy, I heard another British bitch about Italians. It seemed difficult for British to get along with Italians.

Venice Gondras

Venice, Italy

Piaza di San Marco

Venice

Morning in Venice

Arena di Verona

Piazza dei Signori in Verona

Verona Whole View

Museo Archeologico

Venice

Shakespeare in Casa di Giullieta

Museo Archeologico in Verona