Verona to Venice

I slept in this morning, then spent a couple of hours wandering around Verona. Breakfast was a very tasty peach that I bought at a produce market last night, along with a pastry I picked up at a bakery this morning. First stop of the day was the Roman arena. I waited in a long line for a little while, decided it wasn't moving, and went to buy a "Verona card" instead from the tourist office: I didn't plan to visit enough places today to justify the cost, but the ability to skip the line at the arena made it worthwhile.

The arena is used for concerts now

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One of the most popular stops for Verona visitors is "Juliet's balcony," even though it's just something dreamed up by a marketer. I wasn't willing to wait in line to get into the courtyard (and certainly not to make a reservation to stand on the balcony); this is as close as I got.

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The Palazzo della Ragione has this Renaissance stairway in the courtyard:

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The Basilica di Sant'Anastasia

Nave

 

Hunchback holy water stoup 

 

Floor detail

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And the Duomo:

Nave

 

Titian's Assumption of the Virgin

Side of nave

 

Organ

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After my tour of Verona, I took the train to Venice, where I met up with my friend Susan. Of course I had to introduce her to my vacation tradition of afternoon gelato:

Venice was one of my two favorite cities from the first trip I blogged (Paris being the other), and I'm excited to be back!

Munich to Verona

Today I said goodbye to Beth and took a train to Verona. The Dolomites are very scenic; here are some random photos taken from the train window.

(Google says this is Castello di Avio

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It was drizzling when I arrived in Verona, so I opted to take the bus to my hotel rather than walking.

The first thing I bought in Italy was a cup of gelato. Priorities!

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More sightseeing photos tomorrow, but here's a view down Corso di Porta Borsari

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An unexpected benefit of travelling alone: *both* of the chocolates on the pillows are mine :-D