Verona and the Lago di Garda

The last two days of school holidays and the wonderful Laura and Riccardo (who took me up the mountains to Selvino before Christmas) had another wonderful trip planned... this time two days away with both Elena and I.
We set off the morning of Saturday, Jan 5, firstly to the romantic city of Verona, lucky to have a local tour guide - Sara, a Veronese friend of Elena’s. In no time at all I fell in love with Verona’s pretty stone backstreets and romantic dawdling river. There’s no mucking around today: here’re the photos since they tell the whole story anyway.

We climbed up to a higher part of the city

with a park and lovely views over the river and the city.

Elena Contemplates the View

The View Over Verona From the Top of the Hill

And I found a friend....

(I'm missing you Tiger and Tommy!)

My Highlight: Finding a Cat at Verona

Also at the top of the hill, there were love messages scrawled on walls, on the ground, on lampposts, anywhere possible really.

Romantic Verona is Scrawled with Romantic Graffiti: ‘You and I, forever. I love you Nicole.'

Unfortunately, the worst part of Verona was Juliette’s courtyard.

Due to the tradition of writing letters to Juliette about one’s love life and sticking then to the walls with chewing gum, the entrance is just covered in it.

What People Have Done to Juliette’s Courtyard...

Poor Old Juliette - Her Breast Worn Down and Graffiti Surrounding Her

Nonetheless, Verona was wonderful, and we had a great lunch in a cafe` that served lots of great local specialties. I had a risotto with a type of salami that’s very specific to Verona.

‘Retro’: The Groovy Cafe` Where We Had Lunch

The Placemats at ‘Retro'

Outside the Arena at Verona

In the evening, we left for Peschiera,

a little town on the Lago di Garda where Elena has a friend. So we again had a personal tour, this time of this wonderfully cute and tiny little lakeside town as the sun was setting...

The Underwater Nativity in the Lake at Peschiera

After eating delicious pizzas

for dinner and staying the night in a bed and breakfast we began to drive around the entire lake. First stop was at Malcesine, where there is an old castle which you can visit, with some interesting museums inside.

Well, I haven’t got much more to say now. No, that’s not true. I’ve got so much more to say but not enough time! I leave Italy on Thursday evening and arrive back home in Australia Saturday. For me, the time has absolutely flown, and I haven’t put nearly enough of it on the blog.

In the mean time, I send my love. xoxo

A Big HUG from Me to You