Our day
today started at 6:30am with a wake up call. We showered and got dressed and
then put our bags out in the hall so the porters could load them on the bus.
Today we drive to Verona and then on to Lake Como. Thomas went down for some
breakfast and I stayed in the room and did a little blogging. After eating
Thomas returned to the room with some coffee for me and we just relaxed in the
room until it was time to meet in the lobby with the group. By 8:30am we were
all on the bus and on our way to Verona – in the pouring rain. After about an
hour of a pretty boring drive we stopped at a rest area for the bathroom and
some snacks. It was a quick stop and then we were back on the bus for the last
part of the drive to Verona. During the entire drive it rained and we really
couldn’t see very far to enjoy any views. Thomas and I both read most of the
time on the bus.
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| Entering Verona |
When we
got to Verona the bus driver pulled over and we waited for our tour guide to
show up. When she arrived she joined us on the bus so that we could take a
short driving tour of Verona before we started our walking tour. Our tour guide
today was Maria-Pia. She gave us a brief history of Verona and showed us some
of the landmarks of the city. Then the bus was parked and we all went on a
walking tour of the historic area. We did this in the rain so that all you
could see was a line of people walking with umbrellas. We saw the Ponte Pietra
that crosses the Adige, the Tombs of the Scaligeri (and near to here we saw the
supposed house of the Montague’s), Casa di Giulietta (again supposedly), Piazzadei Signori (where there was an outdoor market) and Piazza Erbe (with a grand
fountain and apparently Madonna has an apartment that overlooks the square) and
then we walked down Via Mazzini (a street full of shops) to the Arena and
Piazza Bra. Our tour ended here and the group all went separate ways. Thomas
and I walked down the street to listen to a band playing under an archway of a
building. The band is called Fanfara Bersaglieri di Bedizzole. They are a brass
band and we enjoyed listening to them. We continued walking a little ways to a
restaurant called Ristorante Ippopotamo. Once we were seated at our table we
started looking over the menu – we decided that it reminded us of TGIFriday’s.
We ordered sandwiches – Thomas had turkey and I had a caprese. After eating we
walked back up Via Mazzini to Piazza dei Signori. I wanted to go back to the
market and get some olives. We had seen a stand with some beautiful and
fragrant olives earlier and I kept it in the back of my mind to return later
and get a few. Once I had my olives we walked to Piazza Erbe
and I took some pictures then we shopped for
postcards.
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| Olives at the Market |
We still had some time to kill so we walked some back streets and
returned to the Arena. Since it was the first Sunday of the month all museums
and attractions were only €1. So we decided to go into the Arena. Thomas stayed
at the bottom and I climbed up to the top to get some wonderful views of the
city and the Arena. After taking pictures I went back down to meet Thomas and
then we walked over to the Cosi Bar to have a coffee and gelati before meeting
the group to walk back to the bus. So then we took the short walk in the rain
back to the bus to continue on to Lake Como.
The drive
to Lake Como took about three hours in the rain. It was a boring drive and was
made longer by lots of traffic. We made one stop for a bathroom break but other
than that it was just sitting on a bus. I did a little blogging and some
reading while Thomas read in between naps. It was about 7:00pm when we arrived
at the hotel – Grand Hotel Imperiale in Moltrasio. We then got checked in and
settled in our room. At 7:45pm we met in the lobby and walked across the street
to the hotel’s restaurant. This restaurant overlooks the lake but we were
unable to see it because it was dark and rainy.
Dinner was
wonderful, especially in comparison with the meal we had in Venice two nights
ago. At this hotel we had some choices for dinner. They served us an appetizer
of meat and cheese. Then we first had gnocchetti with tomato and basil and then
I had grilled swordfish and Thomas had Warm Tomino cheese with salad. For
dessert I had gelato misto and Thomas had pumpkin cake. We also had a bottle of
wine – Ferghettina Curtefranca from the Lombardy area, which we are in now.
After dinner we showered and relaxed in the room. Thomas read and I blogged.
Overall it was a nice day but we could have done with a little less rain. Tomorrow
we take a boat ride to Bellagio and spend the afternoon in Moltrasio. They tell
us the rain is suppose to stop and it will be sunny, hopefully that is the
case.
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