Verona

This past weekend (8/8 - 8/9) we traveled to Verona, Italy to spend a weekend in the "cita dell'amore" (the city of love).  Verona is supposedly the city of Romeo and Juliet.  There is really nothing to confirm this however.  In the spirit of things, we stayed at Hotel Giuletta i Romeo.

The main reason for our visit, however, was to see an opera at the arena in Verona.  This is the 3rd largest ancient colosseum in the world.  It was not nearly as big as the Colosseum in Rome, but it was still very impressive. 

The arena was an amazing setting for the opera, Aida.  We are not huge opera fans, but this was no ordinary opera.  Everything about the show was extravagant and over-the-top.  They even had bowing horses... it was all very crazy!  It must have been all of the action because this opera held our attention for 4 hours!!  By the time the show ended, it was after 1 am!

Before the show starts, it is tradition that everyone lights a candle.  It makes for a really beautiful sight!

The next day, we set out to walk around Verona.  Unfortunately, it was really hot and crowded.  We managed to get into what is supposedly Juliet's courtyard.  Yes, this is a pictures of J feeling up Juliet... it's ok, I did it too!  Now, according to legend, we will stay lucky in love!

We ate lunch at a great little restaurant and had a nice time sampling a few different kinds of regional wines.  Verona is a nice city to wander around.  We really enjoyed finding nice places to rest in the shade!  

We had a nice weekend together in Verona.  J left the following day to go back to Mugello for training camp.  Hopefully this time will go quickly so our lives can get back to "normal" and we can actually see each other on a daily basis!