Verona - Day 02

The trip to Verona was one of the longest legs on our journey. The autostrada took us back past Milano with lots of lorries and heavy vehicles. Even so the traffic was fast moving with no jams and Eyal appreciated the fact that Italians drive well.

Unlike Israelis who are always too busy talking on the mobile, playing with the radio or taking charge of their children Italians actually seem to enjoy driving and give it their undivided attention. Eyal did come to the conclusion that Swiss drivers are insane as the only two cars we saw weaving through traffic lanes and over-taking dangerously had Swiss number plates!

I got used to navigating in Italy where every road seems to have several different numbers and the direction given is rarely the one you think you need.

We zipped along quite quickly as the speed limit is considerably higher than in Israel. Even so with such a powerful engine the car hardly felt it and Eyal kept complaining that if I didn't let him drive faster he would never have a reason to use sixth gear!!

In about 3 hours we got to Verona and trundled through the wide boulevards of the new town. Soon we were lost and drove ourselves round and round in circles. Eyal compared it to Guildford and in fact the chaos is a result of a similar system.

In both Verona and Guildford the do their best to keep you out of the town centre and on the large, fast bypass. However in both towns they seem to forget that you might want to visit the periphery and instead they are constantly directing you away from the town itself and to other locations.

When we left it was incredibly simple to find our way back onto the autostrada but getting into the new part of Verona involved turning off the bypass onto a small road that looked like a dead end. To make it worse the route planner kept giving the name of the streets we needed to take but at the junctions between the bypass and the town no street names were marked.

Having circled the bypass a couple of times I just told Eyal to turn down a side street. Soon we found ourselves in modern Verona with wide streets, signposts and a couple of helpful citizens who sent us in the right direction.

Somehow booking online I had managed to choose the Hotel Montressor which was much posher than the other hotels I booked. There was an impressive marble lobby and they sent a bell hop to collect our luggage from the car (that was a totally new experience for me!) Again we had a quadruple room which was spacious and elegantly decorated.

But the best was the bathroom with a double sized jacuzzi. Before we had even unpacked we grabbed our swimsuits and had a family jacuzzi!

During the day and as we travelled across country the weather had changed from cool and stormy to hot and humid. By the time we arrived in Verona the temperature was in the low 30C.

Due to the heat no one had been particularly hungry so we'd skipped lunch but by 5pm my son was starving and the rest of us agree that a meal sounded like a good idea.

We popped down to the charming and extremely helpful concierge. He gave us a tourist map and directions for walking to the old city. He warned us where not to eat (tourist traps) and recommended a good restaurant serving fresh pasta. He also recommend a shopping area 'for the ladies' a suggestion that caused me to smile and my husband to wince!!

The moment we stepped out the door we realised the temperature had risen to the mid-30C. It was still sunny and Verona seemed lacking in breezes. Fortunately this is not a totally unknown situation for Israelis so although the heat and humidity was oppressive we had supplies of water and wet wipes and nobody collapsed of heat-stroke.

Once we crossed through the walls into the old city we passed San Zeno

This is not the actual façade. San Zeno was being repaired and the canvas hung to hide the scaffolding was painted to exactly duplicate the façade!

Then zigzagged along the narrow streets until we came to the river and we walked alongside the river towards the Castelvecchio gazing at the Scaligero Bridge. The traffic was enough for me to reject my idea for walking across the bridge.

Scaligero Bridge

Instead we turned down Via Roma until it opened into the majestic Piazza Bra.

Victor Emanuelle II

On one side the beautiful people were eating at the fashionable cafés and in the centre was a delightful fountain that considerable cooled the temperature.

Most impressive of all was the Arena – the Roman Amphitheatre. All the posters for the summer opera season made me wish I also had tickets.

After taking our bearings for a few minutes and behaving like total tourists we headed towards the shopping street.

Via Mazzini

Despite the fact that it looked so crowded it was quite pleasant to stroll along the street window shopping. Not all the clothes were designer labels and despite friends' declarations that Italy is 'terribly' expensive' not all items were beyond our pocket especially as it was sale time.

And walking the streets of Old Verona is like walking through a museum with beautiful old houses and delightful Juliette balconies on every side.

As we were beginning to get thirsty we came to a drinking fountain which was both pretty and refreshing and a few minutes later I glanced down a side street and spied Greppia - the restaurant the conceirge had recommended. He claimed it was the only restaurant in Verona that served freshly made pasta.

Despite the overpowering heat and humidity most people were sitting outside but we opted for air-conditioning and sat with the locals inside the restaurant.

The pasta was delicious, so delicious in fact that Eyal ordered a second helping and even the friendly waiter smiled at how quickly he devoured it. I decided to try the pasta with truffles as I had never had truffles before. Can't say I was really impressed by the truffles but the pasta with olive oil and Parmesan was still excellent.

Because it was a Friday night we order a half bottle of wine and turned our meal into a small celebration. And while the children oohed appreciatively over the chocolate mousse I enjoyed pannacotta for the first time.

The restaurant was supposed to be opposite Juliette's House but it didn't catch our eye however after the meal we strolled along to the Piazza Erbe which had wonderful statues and beautiful frescoes decorating the buildings.

Even though it was quite late it was still ridiculously warm and it seemed to be getting warmer so we retreated to our air-conditioned hotel room and collasped into sleep in preparation for the next day.