Like any good American-college-student fashion, we were running late to the meeting spot where the bus would pick us up. Actually we were making good time. Then we took a right instead of a left and ended up on the other side of very big park. Luckily, they waiting for us to get to the actual meeting spot. Off to Verona!
The bus ride was 3 hours long. Along the way, we had a break at a gas station. Craving American food, my roomies and I chowed down on Pringles. Totally worth the 3 euro to buy it? Yes. Yes it was.
It was a complete white out going to Verona. Geographically, Verona is northeast of Florence, the opposite direct we had taken to Cortona just a day before. I did not bother taking pictures besides the sun setting because I knew none of them would turn out. Snow is so hard to shoot!
The first night, everyone was really tired. Before dinner, everyone bought a drink from the bar and sat in the foyer getting to know each other. It was a really nice time, and we were able to establish new relationships that continued for the rest of the weekend. Dinner was a two course meal--super good! Dessert was some chocolate mousse stuff. The. Best.
Many of the other students wanted to go out and party right away, but in the end everyone just bought their drinks at the hotel bar and hung out in each other's rooms. Gloria, Makena, and I watched TV for a bit, but I hit the sack soon into it all. I needed my sleep to recover from the day and be prepared for tomorrow!
The bed was alright, but the pillow was flat as could be. The first night, I piled notebooks and the clothes I wore that day. The second night I folded it in half. Frustrating! An interesting thing about the rooms. In order to turn on the lights, you have to place your card key in a slot in the wall. It must complete the circuit to allow electricity in the room because the lights don't work if you have it out. It took a good 10 minutes to figure that out!
Continental breakfast in the morning, then we piled into the buses to go into the city. We had a tour guide for the next few hours pointing out cool buildings and walking us through parts of the city. Our first stop was to a beautiful, recent church built 40 years ago. It is named after Our Lady of Lourdes, I believe, but I cannot recall the exact title.
Some fun sights seen once we started walking around the city were sculptures and Juliet's House. A fact about the sculpture of the lion below that has been worn away is that Napoleon tried to get rid of any Christian symbolism in Verona. The base of it is still there, though!
Those of you familiar with the movie Letters to Juliet would appreciate the journey to Juliet's House. There is no wall. No society that reads and responds to the letters. The tunnel to the courtyard is graffitied with peoples' love confessions. A gate in the courtyard has locks attached to it forever pronouncing the bonds lovers hold to. It is a really beautiful area, even if, obviously, crowded during the day. Jackie and I went back later to put letters in a box, and it was easier to navigate into the space.
After all this walking, it was time to get back in the bus to go to Lake Garda! I'll put that adventure in another post.
No comments:
Post a Comment