Verona

Being an English teacher, the idea of visiting Verona was pretty high on my list.  When else would I have the opportunity to wander the town of Romeo and Juliet?!?  As our time went on in Italy, however, we learned more and more about the amazing things that the city of Verona had to offer.  Given that Luke got the Friday after Thanksgiving off, we decided to take advantage of the extra day and make our trip out east to visit Verona, and follow it up with Venice.

The first draw of Verona was that it boasts the most intact colosseum in Italy, to the extent that operas are still held in it in warmer months.  We were blessed with an absolutely beautiful first day in Verona, which made our first glimpse of the immense structure an unforgettable one.

Wandering around the interior of the colosseum, we happened upon the cages where animals used to be kept before they entered the arena to battle with the gladiators or warriors.  Across the way was a little tunnel that lead into the center of the colosseum.  While we know that such things used to be the most prominent forms of entertainment, it's still really strange and a little eerie to see the spots where it actually occurred.

From the outer hall, we entered the arena itself.  Despite some construction and restoration going on, it was incredible to be surrounded by such an ancient structure.

We set off up the steps, and made our way towards the only remaining section of the top archways.

Making our way back down, however, was a different story.  We ran into a lot of locked gates and dead ends.

But many of those dead ends did provide great views of the main piazza.

When we finally made our way out, we grabbed some lunch at la Osteria "Le Vecete," which was awesome (as usual).

Our need for food and a little vino fulfilled, we wandered over to the Dante fountain, where we also found a little Christmas market...

alongside a beautiful Christmas tree.

Getting into the spirit of the season, we got a little vin brule (hot spiced wine), an event that was even more exciting when we found that our treat came in a mug shaped like a little boot!

Once we were all market-ed out, we set out towards the river to visit Verona's Archeological Museum and Roman Theater.  

Throughout Verona, stone plaques were embedded in the walls quoting Romeo and Juliet both in English and Italian.  They were really neat, and served as a constant reminder of how special the city is.

Along our walk, we also got another treat: finding this tree in a little park that showed off some of the brightest fall colors we had ever seen.

The Roman Theater was on the other side of the Adige River, which runs around Verona.

After our nice river-side walk, we finally arrived at the Museo Archeologico del Teatro Romano.

The Roman Theater was absolutely incredible.  We sat (and laid on the steps) for a while admiring the scenery, which was a welcome and quite beautiful bit of relaxation after a day of hiking around the city.

Note the handsome shadow photographer towards the bottom of this one.

Sunset was beginning, so we started our climb to the top of the hills for a better view.

Wandering through the museum, we saw a number of ancient Roman artifacts and old buildings, including these that still had a water well intact in the center of the courtyard.

We made it to the top just in time to catch a breathtaking sunset over the city of Verona.

During the sunset, we noticed these arches and couldn't help but take advantage of the photographic opportunities they provided.  The following is the resulting sequence:

... at this point one of the museum staff members came outside to see what all the noise was (we were the only ones left in the whole place).  We figured we'd better end things sweetly and move on.

Looking down on the theater from up in the hills.

Sunset almost done...

Oh, hey, cool guy.

On the Roman Theater "stage", a little bit of the original mosaic flooring remained.  It was incredible to think of what this place was like in its prime, with a tiled stage, surrounding cyprus trees, and the river rushing by in the background.

A view of the museum and theater from the bridge.

Heading back through the Christmas market area, we couldn't help but admire the Christmas tree, now all lit up.  We gazed for a while, then moved on to get a snack and try some Amarone wine (amazing).

Because I didn't feel like I could leave without seeing it, we walked over to Juliet's balcony.  Though the courtyard and surrounding houses did belong to the Capulet family, the balcony itself was built solely for tourism purposes a few decades ago.  Despite the fact that it was fake, it was still cool to see it and stand below.

The walls leading into the Capulet courtyard were covered with names in hearts, "_____+_____4ever"s and general proclamations of couples' love.  At first I was disappointed that such an iconic location had been defaced with so much graffiti simply to satisfy people's need to leave their mark somewhere.  After a little more thinking, however, it struck me that all of this truly showed the great impact Shakespeare's love story has had on people all over the world.  Despite language and cultural differences, coming from completely different countries or continents, everyone understands being in love.  Then the graffiti became a little bit cooler.

The next morning, sad to leave Verona but excited to see Venice, we said goodbye to the infamous Verona walls, and continued on our journey.

Milano: Brera District

Wanting to see more of Milan, we headed one day into the Brera district.  Some of Luke's co-workers had mentioned it as a more artsy place with a lot of unique boutiques and shops, so we naturally had to check it out.  Of course, we first set out to grab some lunch.

We started out with some Parma ham, and moved onto fresh gnocchi and squash ravioli

Oh, and wine.  As if it needed mention.

All in all, it was a delicious success.

We then wandered around, ducking in a shop now and then, making our way to the Pinacoteca di Brera, a well-known art gallery.

As there was a HUGE line of people waiting to get in, we were forced to find ways to entertain ourselves in the mean time.  First, we experimented with taking some self portraits (in what we later found to be one-way mirrors - so we probably entertained some people in the gallery as well).

And having a contest for which bust had the best mustache (clearly, this guy won).

We saw some great pieces, particularly in a special exhibit featuring Cezanne, Van Gogh, Renoir, Picasso, Monet and Matisse, including Matisse's famous "Goldfish" painting.

After enjoying the best aperitivo we had yet encountered in Italy, we headed to a restaurant that had earlier caught our eyes: Ham.  Italian food is fantastic, but every now and then, nothing beats a burger.  We settled in and were handed an iPad, on which we could explore the menu, place our orders, and then play around with photobooth, the internet, etc.  It was pretty fun, though our handy dandy Italian to English dictionary was still necessary to translate the menu.   Despite the fact that when we asked the waiter what he recommended, he replied "Uh... I don't know.  There's a pizza place down the street so I always eat there instead," we wound up with pretty decent burgers.

The Brera district was definitely a cool place in Milan, one that gives a very different feel from that of the kind one gets around the Duomo and more popular, tourist-y areas.  It really impressed upon us how big Milan is, how much it has to offer, and how cool it is that we're so close!

Nice, French Riviera

After weeks and weeks of great Italian food and excellent vino, we came to the conclusion that there really was such an occurrence as too much of a good thing, and we needed a break.  As one of the highest recommendations we received from friends was to make a trip to Nice, France, in the French Riviera, we set off for a French adventure.

The drive to the coast was full of hills, tunnels, curves, and quick glances at the beautiful blue of the Mediterranean sea.  Despite the fact that Garmino went a little haywire once we got to the city, we made it successfully to our hotel and immediately set out to explore.

First we had to get in my classic pic with the mermaid.

Then we made our way straight to the beach.  We were surprised to find that the beach was made of mid-sized stones, as opposed to sand or pebbles.  We hadn't really seen anything like it before, and its color and texture added a great deal of unique beauty to the scene when contrasted with the clear blue sea.

As the sun began to set, we headed towards a park located on a very high hill at the end of the old city.  We had taken notice of it on the map and been told by the woman at the front desk of our hotel that it was a beautiful place to watch the sun set.

About 10,000 stairs later, we reaped the rewards of our climb with breathtaking views.

 After sunset, we headed back to a bar that had caught our eye earlier so that we could be supporting our Spartans with a toast on the moment of the kick-off!

Getting a little hungry, we decided to check out a restaurant that had also been recommended to us by the woman at the front desk of our hotel as one of her favorites: La Maison De Marie.  We knew from that first basket of french bread (which we devoured... along with the one after that... and the one after that) that it was going to be a good night.  Making our way through palate cleansers, our main courses of steak with rosemary (Luke) and scallops in a truffle cream sauce (me) arrived.  Hands down, one of the best meals of our lives.  Topping things off with three different kinds of creme brulee (regular, chocolate, and pistachio) put us into food euphoria.  It's still impossible not to talk about that meal without longing groans escaping from both of us.

The next morning, we checked out of our hotel, saying goodbye to the smallest elevator in the world.

 We headed back to the old town to enjoy a delicious traditional French breakfast.  Soft boiled eggs, meats, cheeses, and salad were a little different from our previously standard breakfast burrito, but wonderful all the same.

 Who could resist?  Finding Nemo style: "He touched the butt!"

 Wandering the streets of the old town felt surreal with alleys like this lining every street.  Exploring this one, we couldn't help noticing opera music drifting from one of the open windows above; it was incredible to imagine actually living in one of these apartments day after day. 

 Armed with some snacks and drinks, we headed back to the beach and decided we couldn't pass up the opportunity to test out the waters of the Mediterranean.

 Notice the large wave crashing up towards Luke...

 and its aftermath.  As a result, Luke ended up testing those waters a little more than I did.

We walked to the other end of the beach and found a comfy spot on the wall to relax and take a little nap.  Believe me when I tell you, rocky beaches are a lot more comfortable than they look.  It was so amazing to sit back and watch the waves of the turquoise sea roll in (while being careful not to look too far to our right, as many of the older locals prefer topless or nude sunbathing - yikes).

Nice was definitely one of the hardest places for us to leave.  From the phenomenal food to the charm of the old city to the extraordinary natural beauty, it holds a firm spot towards the top of our list.