I am officially in love.... with VERONA!

Saturday, Sept 18

VERONA!

Today we headed on a trip through our program to Verona! We were supposed to go to Cinque Terre, but it has been raining there so much the past week that they had to cancel the trip and change it to a different location, Verona. We arrived to our hotel at around noon, had free time to grab some lunch and explore and then we had a walking tour f the city. It was raining pretty hard when we got here and none of us were prepared in the least as far as umbrellas, rain boots, ponchos etc, so we went on a search. Luckily, all the stores were in the same little area. Unluckily, we were not about to buy rainboots at Gucci, so we went in search of some more "reasonably prices" weather appropriate clothing. After about an hour of searching in the rain, I finally found some boots I liked.

A more detailed look at my new boots

They were so cute with big red ladybugs all over them. I put them on, put my sandals in my purse, and we headed back to the hotel. Back in our room, I was admiring my new boots and noticed the black dots in the middle of each ladybug were actually skulls! I gasped, but it was actually very funny. This was of course the big joke of the weekend! At 3:00, we began our walking tour of the city and fortunately, the rain had stopped for the most part. We saw the colosseum, shopping street (again) and then the famous balcony where Romeo and Juliet would talk. So amazing to think about all the history in this place! Upon entering the court yard that houses the balcony, there is a narrow alley, almost like a covered hallway leading from the street into the court yard. All over the walls are signatures, notes, and thousands of names of people and their lovers.

All the writing on the wall going into the courtyard.

It is so incredible to imagine all these different people from all around the world coming to these walls to express their love for one another. Also in the courtyard, their is a beautiful statue of Juliet. There is an old story that says if you touch Juliet's right breast you will find true love and if you touch her left, you will become wealthy. I found it so interesting that her right breast was almost completely worn off from being rubbed and her left looked untouched. Even though I am sure the most romantic city (in maybe the entire world" makes most wish for true love, it also goes to show that if you have true love, you feel like the wealthiest person in the world!

The statue of Juliet in the courtyard. 

The courtyard at Juliets house. 
This is the famous balcony!
"Romeo, Romeo, where 
for art thou Romeo?...."

We continued our tour around monuments and then along the river (BEAUTIFUL!). Then we hopped on our bus to continue on the driving portion. We drove to the highest point in Verona which over looks the entire city. I am not exaggerating when I say that it was honestly the most fabulous, breathtaking, beautiful thing I have ever seen in my 21 years on this earth. So incredible in fact that my eyes began to water! (Who does that?!) I seriously can't believe I am here! It is too perfect. After the bus tour we went to grab a quick bite at a cute restaurant near our hotel followed, of course, by a couple big scoops of gelato! Then we headed back, hung out and had a little girl talk, then turned in for the night after a long, beautiful, exhausting, amazing day.

The beautiful bridge spanning the Adige river in Verona!
The water looked so cool and choppy here... Glad no one
fell in though! 

The view from the highest point in Verona! AHH!
Still can not get over it! :)

Sunday, Sept 19

This morning we woke up, had breakfast at the hotel, then set off for a day of exploring my new favorite city. We had a great time just wandering around and getting lost (but only a little!). We had a slow, relaxing lunch at a restaurant by the river and then got a little shopping done. I stopped to get some great embroidered key chains right near Juliet's house! It was so cool to watch these skilled women work the sewing machine! Then we hopped back on the bus at 4:00 (16:00 here) to head back to Firenze after an amazing time in Verona! 

*On the drive back, I was listening to my I-POD and the song "Dream Big" by Ryan Shupe came on. I felt like it was pretty ironic that we were driving through this beautiful mountainous terrain and I was listening to a song about dreaming. Here are a few of the lyrics:


When you cry be sure to dry your eyes
'Cause better days are sure to come
And when you smile be sure to smile wide
Don't let them know that they have won
And when you walk, walk with pride
Don't show the hurt inside
Because the pain will soon be gone

And when you dream, dream big
As big as the ocean blue
'Cause when you dream it might come true
When you dream, dream big

When you laugh be sure to laugh out loud
'Cause it will carry all your cares away
And when you see, see the beauty all around and in yourself
And it'll help you feel okay
And when you pray, pray for strength
To help you carry on
When the troubles come your way