Romeo e Giulietta's Italia

This morning we drove from Venice to Verona - our second stop on our little Italian roadtrip.  This is the city that Shakespeare set his scene between the star crossed lovers Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet.  Casa di Giulietta (Juliet's house) was built in the 14th century, and it is one of the places that we visited today in Verona.  It was once the home of the Cappello family (legend has it that it inspired the Capulet family in the play), and romantics flock from all places to tour this house and leave their letters of love behind.  The fabled balcony over looks a courtyard with a golden statue of Juliet. The grafitti covered courtyard has thousands of colorful hearts drawn with names of lovers that hope to have better luck than the age old tale of Romeo and Juliet.  Of course we had to leave our mark!

We also visited the Roman Arena - this is a pink marble Roman amphitheatre that was built in the 1st century AD and is currently Verona's legendary open air opera house.  Unfortunately we couldn't catch a show as it is a Sunday, but it would have been neat to sit in the restored section of the Roman Arena to witness the grandness and authenticity of it all. 

There are two main wine regions here - the Valpolicella region (Red) and the Soave region (White).  We have arranged a tour through the Valpolicella region tomorrow - pretty excited!

Bonjourno Venezia

First stop on our Italian Roadtrip was Venice.  We stayed at the Hilton Molino Stucky which was a beautiful choice that I would highly recommend   It had an amazing rooftop pool that was perfect at sunset.  Definitely better than travelling as a backpacker!  We did the typical gondola ride (how cliche) but couldn't leave Venezia without it! Loved all the masks in the windows and wish we could have caught a show.

They say this place is enchanting...I didn't see it the first time around, but I felt a dusting of it this time.  The trick is to skip Venice in the day and explore it at night.  Get lost in the canals, and let the city lead you.  Maybe it was the fact that we discovered a little jazz bar with an amazing singer crooning Amy Winehouse.  Maybe it was buying an umbrella from a stranger to shelter us from the light rain.  Or maybe it was the fact that I was back with the love of my life.  For one reason or another, I now realize why they say Venice is amore!