Friday, 8th July

The Plan

9:49 Train to Verona arrive @ 10:15

15:45 Train to Desenzano arrive @ 16:08

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The News

Our last full day on holiday. Boo hoo.  But we were off to Verona.  Hooray!

The rain the day before seemed to have washed away a lot of the pollen that had plagued me the day before.  Verona is only a short journey by train, about 25 minutes.  The slog up the stairs to the platform would have been a problem, but I had found a lift hidden away at the far end of the station, so my poor knees got some kindness.

We arrived at the main station and were then ferried by taxi to the central piazza which contains their colosseum.

There we were met by our tour guide who certainly knew her stuff.  Sometimes it was information overload.  But she was cheerful and passionate about her city.  Verona, it seems had a turbulent past having been independent and shuffled about between one country and another.

I hadn't heard of the Jewish Ghetto in Verona during WWII.  There the Jews had been protected, if still underfed and mistreated, almost until the fall of Mussolini.  They were then shipped out by the Germans to the death camps.

We were taken to the courtyard which houses Juliet's balcony and statue.  Apparently, touching Juliet's right breast makes you lucky in love which is why the photo at the top has her breasts all shiny.  This seems more like paedophilia to me since Juliet was only supposed to be 13.

Unfortunately, much of what you see is fake.  Juliet's balcony is a modified sarcophagus ... and there's no record of her having lived here.

The same is true of the house they call Romeo's home.  It dates from the right period but was actually owned by a different family.  Romance shattered!

From there we moved to the Piazza della Erbe.  Some of the houses still have their original frescos dating back centuries.  There is a market (mostly aimed at tourists) and, as you would expect, lots of restaurants.  It is VERY pretty and even has an original Roman statue.

We were led out of the piazza, passed some original Roman road to get to the tombs of the Scaliger family in the ruins of Santa Maria Antica church.  The family ruled Verona in the 13th and 14th centuries.  The tombs are separated from the public by what looks like an ornate iron grill.  In fact, it is made of interlocking iron work, similar to chainmail, which moves when touched.

Our final stop was on the banks of the River Adige which runs through Verona.  The city started in pre-historic time on the "other" side of the river.  It still boasts Roman ruins and a castle as well as housing.

Papa Duck said that he now trusted us enough to allow us to waddle off on our own for a few hours.  I needed water ... badly, so we found a restaurant and I downed a litre and a half of sparkling water in 15 minutes.  Refreshed, we made our way back to the Piazza della Erbe where we shared a very nice pizza - and another drink.  Then it was time to head for the station where we ducklings were to meet up with Papa Duck again for the journey home.

Jan and I thought it would be a good idea to visit a supermarket when we got back to Desenzano to get some real Italian Parmesan cheese for our eldest grandson who enjoys cooking.  However, 2 miles of walking in the heat after a day in Verona made the idea less attractive in hindsight.

We had to put up with another amazing evening meal at our hotel.  It was billed as a "Gala Farewell Supper" because it had four courses.  It was lovely, but even the meal cooked up by their chef couldn't live up to the billing.