Today our group bused to Verona.  I was sad to leave Florence, but the scenic countryside quickly changed my mood, and upon arriving in Verona, I was (once again) very impressed.  Verona is another one of those towns that seem to have jumped out of history.  That seems to be another recurring theme here in Italy, and I hope that it continues to our day trip to Venice tomorrow.  Verona shares many of the medieval style elements of Florence and Como, but it also has a very Roman feel to it.  The inner city is a near perfect grid marking out squares 80 meters by 80 meters between the roads.  Today we got to take a walking tour and saw some more traditional Roman elements like the bell tower, forum, and Arena.  The Arena is very similar to the Coliseum in Rome, at least from the outside, and is still in use today to house concerts, operas, and other shows.  We also got to walk across a 2000 year old bridge that was built by the Romans around 50 years before the common era.

In addition to pointing out the Roman influence in Verona, our tour guide also made a point to take us to the houses of the Montigues and Capulets.  Actually experiencing the setting of Shakespeare’s famous Romeo and Juliet was great.  It gave a much deeper understanding of how much the environment really contributed to the story being told.

To end our first day in Verona, we had a five course, group dinner complete with an antipasto, a primo, a side dish, a secundo, and a dessert.  The dinner was great and gave us the opportunity to try so many classic Italian dishes.  Today has me really excited for the chance to explore more of Verona, but first, we head to Venice!