Verona was founded in 49BC. Its geographical location between Venice and Milan has always given it significance for trade, defence and tourism. Our day began in a whimsical fashion. We engaged in some vague shopping. Instagram and guided tours have sadly destroyed Juliet’s balcony. We did find a nice place for lunch. Just like Venice you can walk one or two streets away from the masses and find relative seclusion.

A top ten list of attractions was consulted and I selected the Giardino Giusti. Turns out this was well selected, being part of the classic Grand Tour. Royalty, poets and artists all stopped here. We had a great time.

Entrance to Garden.

You can still find artists.

There are statues of Diana, Venus, Atlas, Apollo and Adonis dotted about.

We had a lot of fun getting lost in the labyrinth. Silvi recorded some video that may get uploaded at some point. I very cleverly used a white handkerchief to hasten my egress.

Here I am channeling my inner Dali :).

After a long Siesta it was time to watch some football before dinner at BistroconAmore. Please visit the webpage. It was a really nice meal. The bar/kitchen was right inside the main door. The chef sang. The waitress did not even try to speak English. It was divine.

It was soon time to make our way to the Verona Colosseum. Each year during summer a series of concerts and opera are performed. There is something VERY special about being a part of a spectacle like this. It was the first time Carmen had been done in Verona. It was also the first event of the ‘24 season. Carmen tells a very Spanish story sang in French. Structured in four acts with two inter-missions. There were a lot of performers. There were 4 donkeys. There were horses. I take back what I have said about horses. If you see one on stage. They do look the part.

People powered curtains.

The whole opera experience was very emotional. I do believe some tears were shed at the end. Opera is the Christmas dinner of the arts. Theatre, Singing, Orchestra and I do believe the costumes were by Armani. Throw in some donkeys and horses and it is a real treat. We were in bed at 1:30am which is later than I managed in Ibiza. There is probably a lesson in there somewhere. Or maybe some hard earned wisdom.

Today we will linger about in Verona. There is still plenty to see and do and with the weather very hot in Venice and being the weekend it might not be so pleasant. Opera, it turns out is hard to beat.