19.2.12 Verona and Bologna, Italy

I slept a lot on the train, although I remember waking up a number of times as well. There was a Muslim man in the cabin with me and the police came by and checked all our passports, giving him a particularly hard time.

We got in to the station at 5. No one wakes you up when you get to the destination like they do on Amtrak. We were supposed to get in at 5:30 so we were way early (also like Amtrak) but I couldn’t tell what station we were at. When I saw it was Verona, I wasn’t sure if I should get off the train or stay in the comfortable, warm seat for a while. I got off. I thought it was better to not miss my stop.

The station was inside at least, although very cold. When I booked my ticket, I didn’t even look to see where the station was in relation to stuff. Luckily it was in my guidebook and walkable to the city.

I looked at trains to Bologna and found a seat. I was freezing so I threw on my cardigan. I was still shivering but I dozed off for a little.

At 6 the café opened and I got a café latte and a chocolate croissant, both were good. Even better the café was heated. I found a table and fell asleep in the back. I woke up a few times and saw it wasn’t light out yet so I went back to sleep. Finally around 9 I got up and realized it was just a super foggy day.

I went in the bathroom (snuck in the free one in the café) and put on my long underwear, something I’d be grateful for.

The walk into the city was around 15 minutes or so. When I got on the main street finally I saw a ton of runners in some sort of race. When I got closer into the city there were whole parts of the streets shut down so the runners could get through. The city was a pain to get around in because of it. Often I’d have to stop and let a bunch of runners go by so I could run across the road.

The Roman arena is huge and in the middle of town. It’s two levels all the way around (only a bit of the third remains) and looks really good from the outside. I read it could have held the entire Roman population of Verona back in the day. I did a lap around the arena and went up the main shopping street with Dolce and Gobanna and all those high-end brands on it. It led into Ebba Square, which was almost all taken up with stuff for the race.

I took the street all the way to the end to an old bridge from Roman times and walked along the water for a while. I got to an Roman Theater but it was closed because it was Sunday or the race or it was the mid morning or because it was Italy or all the above. So I climbed up a ton of steps (since it wouldn’t be vacation without climbing hundreds of steps a day) to get to the top of the hill to try to see into the ruins. You couldn’t see much of the ruins, but it was a nice view of the city (if you could see any of the city through the fog).

I went down to Juliet’s House, which is just a courtyard from the 1300s with an old balcony added in the 1900s. But it was completely swarmed with tourists. This had to be the biggest draw in the city. On the walls around the courtyard and even on the street leading up to it are messages from people to Juliet. It’s all a little ridiculous. The Romeo and Juliet aspect of Verona was appealing to me, but I never expected it to be this much.

I stopped in an old looking coffee place for a cappuccino and two pastries, one with pistachio cream and the other chocolate. They were the best I’ve had on my whole trip. And the bill was under four Euro. That’s half a cup of coffee in Rome. I had them at the bar like the Italians do. Little things like that seemed so foreign when I got here but now it’s normal. At one point I thought about what I usually eat for breakfast in America and it really bummed me out.

I headed back toward the center and found the Piazza di Spagnola, right next to the Eba Square. It’s absolutely incredible. All the buildings look medieval, with statues and cracked walls and old brickwork. Bologna is supposed to be one of the biggest medieval centers in Europe, but all the facades are covered and painted bright colors. In Verona everything looks and feels medieval, except also like it isn’t just a museum and people still live in the buildings from almost a thousand years ago.

I walked over to a church at with a colorful painted entrance. I’m sort of over going to churches, but I am all about going when there’s a service going on, especially in Italy. The church was great but the most interesting part was watching the service even though I couldn’t understand anything they said (I think I figured out when they did the father, son, holy ghost part). But it was really enjoyable.

I thought I might be able to catch another service at the Duomo, dating from the 1100s, so I went over there too. And sure enough, there was. It was another really impressive church that I basically forgot a couple minutes later.

I read on Wikitravel a good place to eat was on Spiga, which I happened to be on. So I went in. There was hardly anyone in there so I got a seat by the window. I talked to the waiter a lot in Italian, asking about vegetarian stuff. I ended up getting the special of the day, which was gnocchi with tomato sauce. They also brought some bread (worst of the free bread I’ve got so far and I thought for sure I’d pay for it) and I ordered carbonated water and it came in a giant glass bottle, so I figured I’d pay like 10 Euro for it.

The gnocchi was the best I’ve had on the trip. The pasta was really soft and almost creamy, way different than the tougher gnocci I was used to. The sauce was also the best pomodoro sauce I’ve had yet.

The restaurant was interesting on the inside. It looked like it was fake old, which I was used to in America. Then I went in the bathroom and had to duck to get in through the door a little so I was sold. They had a bunch of cartoons of people on the walls like they do at Sardis, except I didn’t know any of these people.

It only cost 15.50 Euro, so I was pleased. I figured it would be at least 20. So it was a success all around. I’m glad I didn’t just go to a really touristy place in one of the main squares.

Verona is the perfect Italian city. It has the best architecture of anyone I’ve been in the word. And it’s everywhere. There are no gaudy new buildings running the vibe. And they really have just tons of balconies. It doesn’t have that rawness of Naples, but it has the second most Roman ruins (after Rome), beautiful piazzas, fancy shops, a nice river, and the ability to climb a bunch of steps. Out of all the places in Italy I’ve been, I never thought I could actually live there. I thought I could in Verona. I honestly loved every step I took there. I was blown away by it. Maybe because it’s the low season, but it wasn’t overrun with tourists like Rome. People don’t talk about going to Verona like they do the big three cities in Italy. But I liked it more than all them. It’s easier to picture living hundreds or thousands of years ago here than anywhere else I’ve been.

I tried to find the castle and the old bridge connecting to it for a while but hadn’t managed to stumble into it yet. I finally did and don’t know how I missed it earlier. The castle is very Italian and made of red brick. I never associate castles with Italy (or anywhere other than the UK really) but this one was solid. They turned it into an art museum now which is better than just showing a bunch of guns like so many do.

I walked around the courtyard and went onto the bridge. It was from the 1300s although the Germans blew it up when they left the city during the war. The Nazis really sucked. The city dredged the river to get all the pieces and put it back together. It’s a cool bridge, maintaining the style of the castle. I climbed around on it for a while.

My guidebook was crazy about this church outside the city center, San Zeno. So I decided to go for it. It was a walk along the river for about 10 minutes and then you could see it above everything else. I knew there was supposed to be a fee to get in but when I got to the ticket booth the guy was away, so I just walked in. Didn’t feel guilty at all.

The church has a ton of medieval frescos on the walls, often with one a couple hundred years newer on top of the other. On one fresco you could see graffiti from people since the 1300s. Somehow I’ve always loved this. I guess it gives some human touch to what is otherwise just something you look at.

I went down into the crypt and St. Zeno was down there in a little box. So I lit a candle for him, although after being dead for over 1,600 years I doubt he would have appreciated having his body more visible.

The biggest thing about the church in the book was these 40 bronze panels on the west doors, some dating from the 11^th century and some from the 14^th. They were pretty bizarre and all featured a bunch of masks and strange scenes. It was actually pretty interesting, I’d never seen anything quite like it before.

I stole some wifi and Luke had a study group at night so he couldn’t get dinner with me, so I was going to take the later train back. I didn’t want it to be sold out (this is a big fear of mine after the one in Naples to Rome was) so I went back to the train station and bought a ticket. It was less than nine Euros.

My back was killing me at this point after carrying around my bag for the last two days (plus sleeping sitting up in random places didn’t help either I’m guessing) so I left my bag in the luggage holding area for five Euros. Whatever.

Back in town the fences from the race were mostly coming down, making the city completely different. The arena was open now (the race went through there earlier) so I went in. They basically just let you go anywhere inside, including on the stage area. They still hold opera there in the summer and it must be the best place in the world to see opera. I would come back just for that.

The arena was super well preserved. I couldn’t tell how much of it was reconstructed, although I felt some of the seating had to be. But a lot of it looked original. I walked around on the side concourses and it reminded me of Tiger Stadium with the dark small tunnels. I climbed up all the stairs to the top and walked around the top of it. It had great views of the city and would probably be even better with a little bit of sunlight.

I went back into the main squares and it was way better without the race going through them. There were a bunch of people out just walking around. I really love this place.

I got money from the Deutch Bank since I don’t know when I’ll see another and I was almost out of money. I know I’ve spent a lot, but I’m trying not to worry about it. Granted a lot for me in America is buying like a water. So really spending anything was going to feel like too much.

I got a little Verona arena figure thing and went over to get some gelato at a place I passed earlier. The easiest way I’ve been able to find good gelato is to go to places that only sell gelato, especially if they look older. They must be doing something right.

I splurged and got the four scoop cone, the bacio di Romeo, bacio di Guilleta, fin del mundo, and pistachio. I really only know what one of those flavors were. But it was great. A good probable last gelato in Italy.

I wandered the city for a while, just taking it in during the night. They do a nice job lighting it, although I expected more with the arena. Juliet’s fake balcony was lit up and still packed.

It started to rain so I began heading to the train station. I’d walked past a place on the main shopping street a couple times called Billy’s Pizza where a crowd of young people were getting stuff to eat every time I passed it. One of the other things I like to do is think what my life would be like if I lived in the city. I’d probably be one of those people getting food from there. So I did. The thing everyone kept getting was a panzeotto, sort of like a pizza in fried dough. It was really delicious, one of the best things I’ve had here.

I made it back to the station and hung out in the café and worked on this. My feet ached.

The train was one of the unassigned seat ones. I managed to get one by the window without anyone across from me. I fell asleep quickly.

The walk back to Luke’s was much less adventurous, although it was raining and a little slick. Most of the snow is gone thankfully. Although they still have cardboard out on the streets to solve the problem of them being wet.

I told Luke about my trips. He said he’ll maybe give Naples another shot when there’s not a garbage strike there like the time he went. I think it would probably be better.

My feet are aching. But tomorrow I’m going to sleep in for a little and get some stuff done for Belgium.