Another eventful day in the life of an Italian traveller :) Todays adventure involved a trip to one of the most romantic cities in the world..Verona, the supposed hometown of the star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet. Waking up early to catch a vaporetto to the train station, we got to see the gorgeous waterways of Venice one last time. It's so sad but mystical to think that one day such an amazing city could be completely underwater! Alyssa, Karina, Olivia, Christian, Eric, Adam, Shannon, Austin, and I boarded the train to Verona. After taking a lovely wrong turn out of the train station, we ended up in ghost town. We attributed this to it being a Sunday, it being Italian Independence Day, or maybe it just being Verona? As a red balloon blew across the forsaken street without a car or person in site surrounded by barred up stores, the thought that popped into all our heads was definitely, "Why the heck are we in Verona?" Then, as if we passed some transformational portal as we rounded a corner after an hour of wandering, we found ourselves in a magical square bustling with Italians, a beautiful park, antique buildings, and LIFE! The town square was beautiful with the eye catching collosseum of the town as the focal point. Entertainers spotted the streets as a lady seemed to be suspended in the air, women dressed as Roman fighters, and men dressed as King Tut. Spotting and running to the first open restaurant we encountered, I got to enjoy my first artichoke pizza... yummy! The pizza in Italy tends to be less greasy and a lot thinner than pizza in America. We ran into the fabled Whale Bone in the town square. Supposedly, the bone will fall on the first person to walk under it that has never told a lie. Unfortunately (but actually fortunately), the bone did not fall on any of us.

Our next destination was Juliet's balcony, which was pretty much one person's million dollar idea since there is no evidence that Juliet actually lived there, let alone that Juliet ever even existed. However, thousands of optimistic lovers flock to this location every year to see the site where Romeo supposedly called up to Juliet and performed one of the most famous love scenes in the world. To satisfy the boy back home, I signed the wall of lovers, where you sign the name of you and your significant other for good luck in your relationship. People even buy locks from the little store to lock on the gate of the premise to symbolize their undying love. Lately, it has also become a tradition to stick a piece of gum to the brick wall with the name of you and your lover written on it.

Next, we set out to discover the Roman Theater which Mia told us was the must see of the trip to Verona. Although a trek, it was definitely worth it! Wandering the small streets of the town, we stumbled upon the tombs of the Scagligeri family. This family yielded extreme power and control over the city, and even changed town law so that they could be buried in the town, while forbidding any other nocle family to have tomb towers except their own. The elevation of these towers symbolized them being "above" everybody else... how humble.

We reached the river which revealed one of the most endearing sights I have ever encountered. The bright turquoise river's strong current ripped under a series of straight stone bridges. Beyond the river, vibrant green hills spotted with houses crossed the skyline. This majestic view was the perfect contrast to the adorable brick town that stood behind us on the other side of the river. Crossing the bridge, we reached the Roman Theater, which is dated from about the time of Christ, but restored in the nineteenth century. Between these time periods, houses and churches were built right over the theater, but torn down for the restoration. The theater remains the most preserved theater in northern Italy. The layout of the theater was truly a work of art. Beyond the stone steps surrounding the stage, there were structures including numerous rooms and stairways, both in and outside, where you could climb up the hill on which the theater was located. Every level you rose, the view simply grew to be more fantastic. We climbed until reaching the top, which revealed a spectacular view of both sides of the river, one of the best sites I have ever seen.

We had to wrap up our Roman escape to run back to the train station, which was over 2 miles away. We could not miss the last train back to Milan! On the way, we stopped by Juliet's tomb to see if we could catch Natali and Ana, who we had somehow lost earlier in the day. We were overjoyed to catch the train after our exhausting day, and even more happy to arrive back to our lovely home on Corso di Porta Nuovo. Mia was waiting for us with some homemade apple cake that was from her mother's birthday party. What an incredible weekend exploring the amazing country of Italy!