At this point of the journey, every day brought a new and unexpected adventure. When S. and I first sat down and planned this trip in the Studenterhuset, we were not expecting to be stuck in Figueres, Spain or Cerebres, France. And we were certainly not expecting to take a 20 hour train ride across eastern France and back down through the Swiss Alps just to get to Verona, Italy.
When I heard people talk about their Euro-trips, they made it seem like the Eurail was convenient and easy.
“You get on the train whenever you want to, and you get off when you feel like it!” they would enthusiastically exclaim.
Oh, if life were only that simple. Hidden in Eurail’s “convenience” are reservations and the fees that add up to a substantial amount of money, especially for international trains. It would have saved more money to fly, but with planes, you don’t get the same scenic routes (plus, it’s greener to take the train). Even if it was unexpected, it was nice to see the Swiss alps — it’s as beautiful and picturesque as you would imagine it to be.
When we finally arrived in Verona, we ran into another unexpected bit of trouble, which was finding where our hostel was. According to HostelBookers, our hostel was a bus ride away from Verona city center, but we soon found out that it was actually a 30 minute bus ride away. When we arrived, we were greeted by a jolly and hearty Italian man. He enthusiastically showed us around the B & B, and we told him that we thought it was very nice.
“Oh, that makes me very happy to hear,” he said with a melodious Italian accent. “If you’re happy then I am happy!”
As friendly as he was, he did not provide breakfast the next morning (or the morning after that). I was under the impression that Bed and Breakfasts include a breakfast — what false advertisement. He should have just called his place a Bed. In any case, we were all starving by the time we arrived at the B & B, so we went to a nearby pizzeria and ate basically everything in sight.
The next morning, we woke up fairly early to catch all the sights in Verona, since we only had one day to see everything. If you ever need information on a city you are visiting, check out WikiTravel, where like HitchWiki, travelers post information on all the famous sites and tell you where to avoid tourist traps.
Famed for its setting of Romeo and Juliet, Verona is one of the most romantic places in the world. There are messages of love and heartbreak all over the walls next to Juliet’s balcony, and there is always a line of single hopefuls lining up to take a picture next to Juliet’s statue. Apparently, if you touch her breast, you will get good luck in love.
So if you’re a hopeless romantic or need a nice, romantic getaway with your significant other, Verona is definitely the place to be.
Verona is a small city, and all the famous and historical sights are within walking distance. There aren’t as many tourists as there are in Venice or Rome, making it a bit more pleasant to walk around and slowly enjoy the sights. We went to the old amphitheater and also climbed to the top of the Lomberti Tower (the highest structure in Verona — it reminded me of the Round Tower in Copenhagen).
We ate gelato whenever we could (especially since I claimed it helped me with my allergies). And after a long day of sightseeing, we went to a nice restaurant that overlooked the river. This is also where I tried horse meat, which is a typical Italian dish for the region. As hard as I try to be a vegetarian, I feel that I can never resist trying new food, especially if it has cultural significance. Yes, it’s sad and awful to eat majestic and graceful creatures such as horses, but cows are pretty cute too!
Anyway, wherever you travel to, make sure you know the time schedule for public transportation — otherwise, you are going to be paying way too much for a taxi or stuck in city center. The jolly B&B keeper had told us that buses stopped running at 8:30, so we rushed out of dinner as soon as we could … but ended up missing the bus anyway. For the next several hours, we tried calling a taxi, but they would either never come or misunderstand where we needed to be picked up. After asking a couple of bartenders to help us call the taxi, we finally got an expensive ride back at 11 PM.
Juliet’s breast did not bring good luck. Maybe these couples, who placed these locks here to be in love forever, will have more luck!