Leap Of Faith Travels: Italian Beginnings

Love Messages At Juliets House

Lake Garda, Venice & Verona Italy

Thursday 20^th March 2014

The last full day had eventually crept upon me which I planned to make the most of in this marvellous country. At 9:30am we set out on our final excursion to the wonderful and infamous Verona to see some amazing sights such as the amphitheatre, Juliet’s balcony, Romeos house and surrounding courtyards with fountains and markets. As we were driving along the Italian countryside with its blistering heat, I couldn’t stop thinking of my trip to Venice yesterday still remembering the sounds, the sights and even the smells. After yet another long journey on the coach, we finally arrived at Verona. As we stopped to get out, the first sight we came across was the city’s large walls which made it look like a fort towering over the city’s perimeter. We then headed to the information centre to grab a map of the area and it was very useful to have just incase I got lost like I did yesterday in Venice. Throughout my time in Verona I spent it with the two old men who sat at my table back at the hotel as they were incredible people to share this experience with. They were great company to have and quite beneficial too as I managed to get a cheaper entry price stating they were my lecturers and I was the student for my first port of call; the amphitheatre. It was a remarkable piece of construction to see on the outside but was amazing as soon as I entered into the centre through the turnstiles. The shear size of the theatre was overwhelming and the layout was fantastic imagining I was about to watch a gladiatorial fight to the death. Instead what I did see were builders and heavy vehicles preparing the stage for a music concert. I decided to head straight to the top of the theatre and after a gruelling climb up the steep steps I couldn’t get over how beautiful the views of Verona’s roof tops which were giving off a strong vibrant orange colour. The next place we went to see was the infamous Juliet’s balcony. I had seen it so many times on TV but it was really interesting actually seeing it for myself. It was quite straight forward to find and the first thing we came across were the thousands of colourful love notes written on the walls. Then I saw the balcony with tourists on it taking pictures. There were also colourful padlocks with people’s initials on them and strangely enough chewing gum scattered all over one side of the wall with love messages on them which was weirdly fascinating. It was beginning to build up with hundreds of tourists so we decided to head to Romeos house. We arrived and there was no way of getting into it but we still admired the beautiful details of the statues and the building itself. After visiting Romeos house we spent quite a bit of time admiring the architecture of the courtyards nearby and they were remarkable because this was the first time I had seen beautifully detailed sculptures and archways. The water features were so picturesque too I fell in love with the place. Yet again we didn’t have much time in Verona which again was a shame so I missed out on the beautiful river views and quiet areas of the city. It was time to head back to the coach and we were surprised when we were told we were going to a winery near Riva Del Garda and have a wine tasting session. I was looking forward to this so I was eager to get there intending on buying a few bottles. A long time had passed and then we arrived to a lone shop at the side of the road overlooking incredible scenes of the Italian vine fields. I entered the large shop as did everyone else and made our way straight to the counter area where a lot of shot glasses were lined up with 5 different wines. I wasted no time trying the 5 types of wine plus lemon liquor which were all very tasty. I wasn’t sure if I was meant to spit it out into a bucket or drink it so instinct told me to drink it. I had bought quite a lot of wine and novelty bottles of liquor afterwards and headed back to the hotel where I would begin to pack my bag so I wouldn’t worry about it in the morning. I headed downstairs and sat down with my fellow passengers as we waited for our last evening dinner to be served. Hungarian goulash was on the menu which was absolutely delicious. We then sat at the bar area and had a good old chat about our holiday experience along with the last night for free drinks. This was definitely another great day out along with a bit of t-shirt tan as a bonus. I went to bed dreading about leaving this beautiful country tomorrow but holding onto the memories dearly.