August 22, 2009
Arena di Verona: In Piazza Bra, over 2,000 years old. It has gone from gladiators, public executions, and bullfights, to opera and concerts.
Looking down Piazza Bra at all the cafes, restaurants, gelaterias. We had breakfast here Sunday morning.
To our left you can see the props used during opera season.
Castelvecchio from the outside looking in. Built between 1355 and 1375 on a bank of the River Adige. I'm on a drawbridge looking in.
Castelvecchio inner courtyard.
From a bridge leading from Castelvecchio overlooking the river.
Another view of the river.
An arch we saw on our walk.
Looking down one of the narrow streets. We navigated the 4-runner down a few of these.
Piazza Erbe: Vendors lined the center of the piazza with souvenirs and fresh fruit.
Venetian Lion overlooking Piazza Erbe.
Dante. The poet.
Star-crossed lovers...wherefore art thou Romeo. Juliet's balcony. I know, I know it's fiction but Evan indulged me with pictures. (that's not me on the balcony).
Juliet.
There is a wall where all lovebirds can declare their love with graffiti. The Italians have outsmarted the tourists though--I learned later the wall is covered in plastic sheeting for preservation.
The rib of a whale hangs under this archway. It is supposed to fall if someone walks under it that has never told a lie. Attorney=never. going. to. fall.
We climbed the Lamberti Tower--368 spiral staircase steps. Two levels of bells, this was at the top.
View from the Tower.
Another view from the Tower.
Evan in front of the Synagogue.
I am not quite the photographer Evan is--I thought you could read the dates.
Best part of the weekend. Our 2nd-to-top row seat at the opera to see Tosca. Aida was the night before which means we must return someday.
View from the top row at sunset.
Waiting for Tosca to begin. Evan kept saying, "Gladiators used to fight here and here we are."
The end of the first act of Tosca. Amazing. We withstood the downpour and the delay for a fantastic night under the stars (once the clouds cleared). It was over after midnight and like any good opera--another story of star-crossed lovers ends in their death.
Arena di Verona: In Piazza Bra, over 2,000 years old. It has gone from gladiators, public executions, and bullfights, to opera and concerts.
Looking down Piazza Bra at all the cafes, restaurants, gelaterias. We had breakfast here Sunday morning.
To our left you can see the props used during opera season.
Castelvecchio from the outside looking in. Built between 1355 and 1375 on a bank of the River Adige. I'm on a drawbridge looking in.
Castelvecchio inner courtyard.
From a bridge leading from Castelvecchio overlooking the river.
Another view of the river.
An arch we saw on our walk.
Looking down one of the narrow streets. We navigated the 4-runner down a few of these.
Piazza Erbe: Vendors lined the center of the piazza with souvenirs and fresh fruit.
Venetian Lion overlooking Piazza Erbe. 
Dante. The poet. 
Star-crossed lovers...wherefore art thou Romeo. Juliet's balcony. I know, I know it's fiction but Evan indulged me with pictures. (that's not me on the balcony).
Juliet.
There is a wall where all lovebirds can declare their love with graffiti. The Italians have outsmarted the tourists though--I learned later the wall is covered in plastic sheeting for preservation.
The rib of a whale hangs under this archway. It is supposed to fall if someone walks under it that has never told a lie. Attorney=never. going. to. fall.
We climbed the Lamberti Tower--368 spiral staircase steps. Two levels of bells, this was at the top. 
View from the Tower.
Another view from the Tower.
Evan in front of the Synagogue.
I am not quite the photographer Evan is--I thought you could read the dates.
Best part of the weekend. Our 2nd-to-top row seat at the opera to see Tosca. Aida was the night before which means we must return someday.
View from the top row at sunset. 
Waiting for Tosca to begin. Evan kept saying, "Gladiators used to fight here and here we are." 
The end of the first act of Tosca. Amazing. We withstood the downpour and the delay for a fantastic night under the stars (once the clouds cleared). It was over after midnight and like any good opera--another story of star-crossed lovers ends in their death.
Courtney, Nancy gave me your blog site and I LOVE it!!! I haven't had time to catch up on everything . . . but I am living vicariously through your adventures in Italy! What a dream!!! I love that you are savoring every minute there, what a dream! Please eat a lot for me! And ps- if you happen to get a chance to tour outside of Italy I would love to recommend Bavaria (where Steph & I lived twice) it is amazingly beautiful and often overlooked! Have fabulous adventures! J
ReplyDelete