Juliet's balcony is bogus, apparently

 Wednesday 13 & Thursday 14 May

So why did the walking tour guide recommend we buy tickets online and it seems impossible to buy a single fridge magnet without  R&J featuring, or the Arena which was a total rip-off?

Somebody, somewhere just found a house that looked like the Capulets (real powerful family, along with the Montagues though probably spelt differently) might have lived there, and it had a balcony that looked like a young girl (let's not forget she was just a teenager and not even at the current age of consent!) might have mooned over her new fella under cover of darkness. And the myth became a tourist attraction. And no, I didn't go.

Anyhoo, Verona is lovely albeit rather more (much more) touristy than Vicenza, a city with architecture stretching over four distinct eras - Roman, Medieval, Venetian, Modern. Yet again Google Maps sent me the wrong way around from the station after a short trip from Vicenza (though not helped with the correct path actually being closed off). Arriving at my 2-star hotel in a sweaty heap (who needs a Body Pump class with my luggage?), I dropped off the bags and set off with a map in hand - my favourite thing, even if it was the one for the Hop On/Off tour - it was enough and freed me from the evil of Google Maps for a time. I was much closer to the centre this time - everything within walking distance, including a restaurant I visited twice as it was welcoming and reasonably priced, and a launderette, which was a very clever thing but not reasonably priced. (5 euros wasted on a loyalty card when I could have just used it as a guest - which still cost me 10 euros for a small wash and short dry cycle. I live and learn - Miele Bloomest card anyone? Will have to tuck it away for next time.) 

The Hotel Siena was sweet and the staff lovely, and a balcony with a front aspect was a bonus for me, but I couldn't swing any cats in that bathroom and spent the entire time trying not to trip over the shower tray on the way to the loo, and getting caught up in the shower curtain and attempting not to flood everything while attempting my ablutions. I always know there's going to be trouble when I see a drain in the bathroom floor...

I found the place for the walking tour I'd booked at 3.30pm so had time to check in at 2pm and unpack a bit before setting out. As the forecast showed no rain, I had been bold and put on a sleeveless summer dress and Birkenstocks, which earned me some puzzled looks from Italians in padded jackets and boots (echoes of Milan October 2014). The walking tour started at the Arco dei Gavi, originally part of the Roman defences as a gate into the city, hidden by burial underground from Napoleon who despised all things Roman, then discovered, resurrected and painstakingly rebuilt after WW2. It's right next to the Castello Vecchion and some very robust walls and a bridge.

The walking tour was ok in terms of an overview, but the guide wasn't great - he told a lot of very bad jokes, treated us like children and kept touching people on the arm and shoulder, which didn't seem very appropriate. He focused very much on the era and stories of a ruler of the city who renamed himself Big Dog (really - Grand Cane, and he had similarly-named successors), rather than giving us much more in the way of history.  And with a group of 20, he really should be using a mic and headsets! I only left 5 euros tip which seemed a bit mean, but I only had a 20 note and he certainly wasn't worth that!

We finished up at the Arena, which I decided to visit next day (really shouldn't have bothered), and I headed back to the hotel. Dinner was pizza at a casual joint up the road, because sometimes you just have to, and Valpolicella. Which is and always has been one of my favourite words in Italian. I even had a second one at the faux-German bar opposite the hotel.

Thursday forecast had promised rain, so rain jacket on,  but it didn't materialise until the afternoon - and then by 'eck did it chuck it down so hard, along with plenty of thunder and lightning, it cut my sightseeing short.

While the sun shone I took a different route into the main square, then found myself in the main shopping street, Via Mazzini. Anyone who knows me will be surprised at my self-restraint - I didn't even buy a fridge magnet. Made my way to the Duomo - I didn't pay to go in as judging by the photos it looked more impressive from the outside, ditto the Teatro Romano across the Ponte di Pietro which seemed to be mainly covered in scaffolding.

 

I lunched early as I'd bought a ticket for the Arena and had to be there for 2pm - had come across a small trendy restaurant near the Duomo with an appealing menu and a beautiful bathroom, with free nappies that obviously tell it like it is...

The Bucatini Amatriciana was good but extremely rich and very salty and I needed to walk briskly afterwards to digest it. A quick macchiato and a caffe sospeso (such a lovely idea) and I headed for the arena. Well - my advice is, if in Verona, don't waste your money even if you get a ridotto ticket for being old. Just admire it from the outside. 

Inside, so much of it isn't accessible (lots of red and white tape forcing you to go a certain way), there's really not very much information about its history, and you can't really stand in the middle of it and imagine being a gladiator as it's full of rows and rows of seats for the many concerts that take place there (which would probably be a cool thing to do instead). You can sit on the terrace and admire its size, but I would also say don't go when school parties are likely to be there as it's full of kids having fun screaming at each other across the divide  (I didn't have a choice, as my requested time later in the day was changed by the ticket issuers).

The saving grace after that disappointment was my next stop, the Palazzo Maffei near Piazza Signori (spectacular views of which can be gained from the roof terrace, included in the admission price, though you can purchase separately if you really don't want to look at the amazing art collection.) 

It really was one of the most interesting and eclectic collections I've ever seen, with modern art (much of it early 20th century, Futurist and including the likes of Picasson, Braque, Klee and Warhol and the Italian artists they influenced) and objects presented alongside the Medieval and the Renaissance. It was a real highlight and I took gazillions of photos - here are just a few. Many of them came from a philanthropic private collector who was interviewed in a short video I watched. He said that he took inspiration from an artist who once said that his art died if it couldn't be viewed by everyone. There was also a quote from Picasso who questioned why people put so much effort into understanding art, when we don't try to understand a bird of the sky - good point, I thought, especially as I am from the "I know what I like" school of art appreciation. 

I'd intended to go on the San Zeno di Maggiore, a highly recommended church, and walked most of the way but was eventually defeated by rain bouncing off the pavements and splashed back to the Hotel Siena. After catching up with the blog and the inevitable packing, I headed out for FRZ down the street, a gin/cocktail bar where I was introduced to the producer of a very new gin called Tromba (because he plays the trumpet!) and had a very nice citrussy G&T. 

I had hoped to have dinner in Casa d'Amore, a little place again only a block away, but it was full so I went back to my lunch spot of the previous day, where I embarrassed myself by ordering extra potatoes in error with my secondi - which I have come to understand is basically meat and potatoes. Bless their hearts, they didn't make me eat them and took them off the bill, as they had done with my superfluous insalate mista the day before. I really am going to keep up with those Italian lessons...

Vado in Vincenza

 Monday 11 & Tuesday 12 May 

(Apologies for any erratic formatting on this post - it seems to be even more temperamental and uneditable than usual) 

Up bright(ish) and early to schlep heaving luggage back down the road to Centrale, where even after breakfasting I was still so ahead of time I almost boarded the wrong train for my reservation, had I not checked with the immaculately turned-out and very patient customer service lady who pointed out that my Venice-bound train, booked with an entirely different company (so do beware!), wasn't due for half an hour. 

That wait turned into 45 minutes, and after setting off there was a further delay of 40 minutes in total. The train had come all the way from Geneva so I guess I could forgive that - it was packed and hot (no apparent air con), but I did manage to find space for my luggage, which was more than could be said for my feet as I was sat opposite a rather large man who munched biscuits noisily for quite some time. (You can't help but look at people when you're sat so close up - he was the kind of hairy where his beard went down his neck and joined his chest hair...)

Anyway, eventually I reached Vicenza and got a taxi (Uber is available here but not especially cheap, and the wait was too long - spoiled again in London) as the hotel was over 20 minutes walk away and I do have a pain and martyrdom threshold. Key Hotel is a 3-star around the back of a stadium - it's not the most glamorous area, and I discovered that it was much further out of town than expected, but whilst it's a no-frills place it was clean, comfortable with kind and friendly staff and breakfast thrown in. With quirky motivational quotes on a chalkboard in the dining room, which I tried to translate as I was eating.

After settling in a bit, I set off for the old town by turning the wrong way out of the hotel, and having to check Google maps as I thought I had (actually not) left behind the map the nice man at the desk gave me, walked a circuitous and uninspiring route, getting increasingly desperate for sustenance and ending up at Caffe Olimpico which is a fairly basic eatery, though obviously very popular with locals - and it was actually more central than I realised. As I ate, the rain hammered down outside - the brolly was going to get plenty of use that day.

While eating what was billed as bruschetta but was really more like pizzetta, I noticed a poster for the Teatro Olimipco, the ancient theatre that was one of the first indoor auditoria in Europe. The students from the local conservatoire were giving a series of concerts this week, so I booked for an evening of Schubert for just 5 euros and went last night - the kids were damn good and the space is spectacular. No bar however,  so a very dry gig, and the look I got for having accidentally (really, not an act of defiance to escape a queue) used a cubicle in the gents during the interval made me go hot with embarrassment! Somewaht bizarrely, unless I read the security uniforms wrong, the ushers seemed to be accompanied by members of the fire brigade. No naked flames on stage were in evidence, not even candles....

Having eventually found my way into what obviously was the old town, I started meandering down the main street in the miserable drizzle - and being Monday, so much was closed! I popped in to a couple of shops for various supplies, and sat with an artiginale gelato while watching the rain bounce off the pavments. (Oh and btw gender-neutral loos often take on a whole new identity in these parts - and girls ain't sitting down....)

The Duomo was open, so I popped in and held my breath. Not big on religion, but this was another special one, with soaring vaulted ceilings and frescoes. Lit a candle as I always do when the opportunity arises - to say thanks to whoever for allowing me to be here as much as anything else. 

There's good shopping to be had in Vicenza - the usual suspects are there and a number of designers, but also some beautiful independent home and clothing stores. Wallet stayed firmly in bag despite serious temptation. I ate at Ceppo - an amazing deli with a bistrot attached, and selling its own wines. And I loved the fact that the flower shop, rather than locking its doors for lunch, put a floral barrier acroo to indicate it was closed. And I really, really wanted to try on some hats but I was already having a very bad hair day what with all the rain.

 

Despite the rain, I also loved coming across so many beautiful Palladian (named after architect Palladio) and sometimes quirky buildings when I turned a corner, including old palazzos now private residences and apartimenti. As per, I snapped away at some randoms....and Vicenza has at least three cinemas that I saw. (The Odeon was showing Devil Wears Prada 2)

Finally defeated by feeling damp, I bought a sandwich and snacks to have in my room that evening - I just didn't feel up to finding a restaurant in my somewhat dishevelled state. So I started walking back via what appeared to be a slightly different route, and Googe Maps led me so astray I had to turn around and go back on myself at one point. I was almost in tears of frustration by the time I reached the hotel 22000 steps later - but thankfully another nice man on the desk was able to provide me with a glass of much-needed vino from the little bar there. (Pinot Grigio or Pinot Nero only, but it seems that no Italian wine is shite, even the cheap stuff.)  My evening was spent catching up on the blog and watching Legends on Netflix, which I've got kind of hooked on even if the script is a bit clunky at times!

After a corker of a thunderstorm the next morning, the sun came out and emboldened by the forecast, I put on a summery dress and headed out for the rest of the day as I'd booked the Schubert concert ticket. This time I turned the right way out of the hotel and found my way into the old town via a rather more picturesque route. It was a different place from yesterday, with many more people around, so I decided to continue wandering while the weather held. I had a few minutes of peaceful contemplation in the green space provided by Giardino Salvi adjacent to the castello walls - it's quite small but has a natural spring running through it and a pretty Palladian lodge. There are a few roses but it's more of a park than a garden, with a few ancient statues.

The church of San Lorenzo which I came across was worth a pause. I've liked that for most churches I can just wander in and sit for a while. I bought socks as was running out of ones I could wear with my water-resistant trainers rather more often than expected! I came across the food and clothing (read toot) markets near the Palladian Basilica. I returned there after lunch to go to the Guido Harari exhibition (excellent portraits of musicians over the last 40 years, both in action on stage and posed wherever he set up his studio - a real highlight.) I had a walk around the terrace of the building too, though sadly it seemed the rest of the building was off limits and I seem to have missed the nearby jewellery museum. 

Last stop of the day was the Palazzo Chiericati, now a UNESCO world heritage site which houses the civic art collections distributed over three sections of the building. These go from medieval times up to the early 20th century - and as I can appreciate but not especially enjoy what Kim and I call Jesus art, I dwelt longer in the later sections, with some lovely recent acquisitions of portraits and scenes of Venice. Unfortunately I took very few photos that do them any justice.

I had a really tasty tortellini and some excellent rosato vino at Ceppo, where I later realised I had completely confused my lovely server by asking for an insalate mista as a cortina rather than a contorno (a side dish, which has never been a classic boy racer car). 

After a quick macchiato which I seem to have developed a taste for, on to the Schubert concert described above. An Uber back (the buses stopped even before the concert began at 8.30pm, and having got very lost the day before thanks to Google maps, I didn't trust myself to walk) was a stiff 15 euros for a short trip with a surly driver who didn't seem to think it was an issue that his car was described as black not white on the app! The later than usual return to my hotel necessitated a flurry of packing ahead of the next journey to Verona.