The Veronese Love Story

You may notice that there are no pictures included with this blog post. I assure you there is a very legitimate reason for the lack of photo, a heart wrenching and tear producing one, but first comes the tale of how we fell in love with the city famous for it's star crossed lovers.

The train journey from Venice lasted a blessed two hours (our shortest journey of the trip) on one of the wonderful double decker trains through sun bleached and vine yard covered country. We were more than content to sit and watch the world go by, and soon we had arrived in Verona, the stunning backdrop to Shakespeare's famous Romeo and Juliet. Hoping we would have slightly more luck than they did, we set off through the blistering heat to the Hotel Martini.

After checking in and checking out our palatial room, complete with bidet and toiletries, we ventured out to explore the nearby shops and find something for dinner. And I kid you not, we were falling in love with the city within five minutes. Everywhere you looked were pretty cobbled streets and majestic old buildings, two of our most favourite things. And things only looked up when we came across the Roman arena set just past a pretty park, and against the backdrop of a row of restaurants and street lined with shops. We were truly gobsmacked, but managed to pull ourselves together enough to explore the shops (read: Kiko and the Disney store), grab McDonalds from the poshest looking restaurant of its kind, and head back to the hotel for a chilled evening.

The next day dawned even hotter than the first, and after a lie in we dressed ourselves with the attitude of soldiers preparing for battle, only our enemy was the sun. Suncream barrier applied, we headed out and back to the arena to take some photos outside, before embarking on the route through the city we had planned. We found Juliet's balcony, discovered some stunning streets, got the most amazing gelato (I went for dark chocolate, Emily for cheesecake and banana), and captured some of the most stunning buildings under the blazing sun. By this point we were in need of refreshment, and headed off to where google had told Emily there would be a Starbucks. Alas, our old frenemy had disappointed us once again, and there was no Starbucks to be found. After shaking off the disappointment, we walked back to McDonalds for some revitalising cokes, before setting off again.

Now, exploring the arena was on our agenda. After paying our €7.50 entry, we headed inside and made our way to the very top of the tiered seating carved out of stone, where we sat and soaked up the sun and the atmosphere. And man, it was so worth every cent we paid to get in. You could feel the long and rich history of the arena and it's many uses all around you, imagine what it must have been like back in the day. After a while we decided to explore the rest of the arena, taking many, many photographs along the way, both of ourselves and of the arena. Finally, we dragged ourselves away from the majestic building and headed for dinner in a nearby restaurant. I opted for baked lasagna and Emily went for tagiatelle in a meat sauce. And honestly, there is nothing better than eating good food in the sun with the stunning surroundings of Verona all around you.

Content and full of food, we were heading back to the hotel when disaster struck. Emily knocked her phone out of her hand and onto the pavement, and no amount of prayers could save the screen. It was gone. Kaput, you may say. All our photos, all our memories, all Emily's everything buried under the cracked black screen. Despondently, we trudged back to the hotel, glad that the majority of the photos save for the Verona ones were also on my iPad and on facebook. We were also hopeful somewhere in Innsbruck we would be able to get it fixed.

That is, until I had the idea of finding somewhere in Verona that could fix it by 10am the next morning, and we action movie-d it across the city to a phone repair shop, where we left it. Returning in two hours as balls of nervous energy, we were out of luck. Apparently, it was a mother board problem, and so we headed  back to get some sleep, planning to try again once we were in Austria.

The Venetian Masquerade

There were many good things about our flying stop in Lienz. The mountain views, the flat to ourselves, the hammock...but possibly the best thing about Lienz was the peaceful nights sleep we finally got after spending the previous nights in hostels with noisy tenants. Praise being halfway up a mountain! Not a good environment for drunks, but an excellent environment for two exhausted girls.

After spending a lazy morning packing, lounging in the hammock (and being scared by Emily), and having some wifi time, we trudged back down the mountain to the train station to continue our journey south to Venice. Amazingly, we'd managed to come to Lienz in the middle of their festival, and so we had to fight through the crowds and the entertainment before finally finding our destination.

The six hour journey down through the mountains was once again breathtaking, and we found ourselves in awe of the sublime beauty of what we could see all around us. After an hours stop at Fortezza (a station where there is literally nothing), we found ourselves once again on a Hogwarts Express-esque train and amazingly found an empty carriage! No mean feat for a train that had come all the way from Munich. After congratulating ourselves, we settled in for the four hour train journey to Vemice that, surprisingly, felt so much longer than the previous day's ten hour journey. But eventually we'd made it to Venice Mestre, a stop away from the island and two minutes away from our hotel. Or, as it turned out to be, slightly dodgy feeling B&B on the third floor of a residential building. Nonetheless, the staff were lovely and the place was clean, so we set about creating the shit pit. I swear it's not intentional! It just, well, happens. 

Food was the next priority, and luckily there was a supermarket on the next road over. Tuna sandwiches and snacks achieved, we headed back to the room only to find that we'd picked up possibly the most disgusting sandwiches ever made. Seriously. The only place these belonged was the bin. We faced the prospect of a long and hungry night until I remembered that there was a McDonalds back at the train station! We ended the night with happy tummies.

The next day dawned under the blistering heat of the Italian sun, and after a much needed lie in, we prepared ourselves for a day of wandering by the canals of Venice and exploring the pretty tiny streets. We got the train there, and stepped out onto a crowded street by the Grand Canal. Apparently every man and his nan had decided to visit Venice at the same time as us, and we fought our way through to the quieter side, before setting off through the winding maze.

First stop was a souvenir shop, where I bought two Venetian masks. Can't go to Venice without buying them, after all! It's like going to France and not eating baguettes. The next few hours were spent trying to work out how to get to the main square and church. Venice, as we soon found out, is literally like an old maze lined with beautiful building, and tourists and street vendors everywhere. Luckily though, it's also a beautiful place, so getting lost a few times isn't really an issue. Lunch was spent sat by the canal eating rolls, before we headed off again, eating gelato as we went. Pistachio for me, banana for Emily. Along the way, we discovered the shopping street of Venice, which contained two of our favourite shops. Kiko, and the Disney Store. Well, it would have been rude not to stop!

Finding the church was worth the trek. Towering above us, the old architecture just begged for a picture in front of it. The background was perfect with the water behind it, and I once again found myself speechless that places and buildings like this do exist, and I can actually visit them, they're not just pictures or paintings. After wandering by the water and taking more pictures, we decided it was time for a sit down and a coffee. But could we find a little cafe anywhere? Nope. So instead, like true tourists, we made our way to McDonalds where we knew we could at least sit down and have a coke.

Feet rested, it was time to wind our way back through towards the train station, stopping off in Sephora and Lush along the way. I literally fell into Sephora, and the staff in Lush were the loveliest I've ever come across. Interested in where we'd come from and what we were doing, and so helpful. They couldn't do enough. Spirits buoyed by this, we ended up in a pizzeria for lunch, before making our way back to the station and Venice Mestre (doing a bit of Kiko shopping on the way!)