Day 5 - Lake Garda and Verona. Bella Italia...A daytrip booked with our tour operator. Off from Jesolo at 8am after we picked up on the bus tourists from other 2-3 locations near us. Wonderful styled guide (Sandra) and driver (Giovanni). A pleasure to have both of you on this day trip. Thank you. After a 2 - 2.5 hours bus journey with one courtesy "services" stop, we touched the most southern part of the Garda lake, the little town of Sirmione. Wondeful little town with flowers flowing down the house walls, and the ice cream heaven too. I have never seen so many ice cream shops on square meter, with so many choices to go, beautiful and colourful presented and still people queueing up for it. Lake Garda is big. Breathtaking big. 65 km long, 18 km wide. Majestic mountains surround the lake on the western part and probably (you can't see the shore) on the northern one. Crystal clear water with some parts where sulphure bubbles still popping up at the surface from the remains of a volcano in the deeps of the lake. Speed boat tour for 20 mins then time off. Despite the fact the town is small, there are so many things to see... You'd need at least half a day here or even one day will be even better, but this tour is only offering 1 hour and 45 mins. Off to Verona. Journey takes about an hour. Parking for coaches is permitted outside the city only, but it's a reasonably short walk to the awesome looking "Piazza Bra" and not because of the bra but because of the ancient amphitheatre you can find there and dominate the piazza views.
Verona is a big historic city. Many historic places, statues, fountains, old houses, churches, bridges over the river, hills, and..... Yes, beautiful Juliete's house and balcony. I think that it's the main attraction in town, counting the hundreds of tourists per every 5 mins, walking in and out and taking a photo at least with Julietta's statue in front of the main entrance, just below the balcony. Poor Julietta. Every single tourist taking a picture with her, regardless man or woman, was touching and resting the hand on Julietta's right breast. It's a bit comic I said to myself while waiting there, to see hundreds of different styles of breast touching and facial expressions. If I had my video camera with me that would be worth the money to be broadcasted in "You've been framed"... But it's a bit tragic too, like Shakespeare's love story, to see poor Juliet with one polished shining golden boob and arm and the other one green dark and rusted. Come on, what if Romeo statue would be there too? What would the tourists have touched from Romeo??
Ok enough with that. What else can I say about the tiny part of the city we have seen in the very short time ve had?
Again, you would need at least one day to visit the main parts of the city...nice people, good food, I took a visit inside of the amphitheatre which is looking like ruins from outside but it's hosting inside big concerts of every type. Being inside I've been shocked of the awesome acoustic. On the very last row, high enough to have high sickness, one could hear very clearly and seamless what other people were whispering on the main stage, mounted in the middle front. And the sound was like coming just from somwhere near you. Amazing, considering that all is built in big chunks of ancient stones, carved like the pyramids...
I really don't want to dissapoint you but must share with you what I heard from a true Veronese woman, while eating inside at the "Brek" self service restaurant. She shared with us that Juliet's house in Verona it's not really her house, it's all based on suppositions from a legend, and the balcony was attached at a later time to he house. Dissapointed? Then listen up. Same lady said that Shakespeare, when he travelled to Italy, he heard the legend in an oral form and then adapted it. In a word, nothing is set up in stone like I and probably you had believed...
We returned from Verona in 2 hours and 45 mins, our son was a hero in the bus, not just because he was the only toddler on the bus but because people were all laughing at his remarks in the bus. Bless him.
After dinner we went up in our room, shower, wash teeth and sleep until next morning. Zzzzzzzzz.