6-8
So today we went to Verona and Vicenza. We got off to an ok start but when we got to the train station ended up getting tickets to a train that left in at 10 so we waited around for an hour in the station and then went on the regional train so it stopped at every stop. It was a long ride. When we finally arrived we started down the path Rick Steves suggests and got to most of it. We went to the Roman Arena there and then headed up the strip and saw Juliet’s balcony and statue. I actually thought it was really cool to see even though I don’t really like the story Romeo and Juliet that much. Something about the hope and love that that place seems to symbolize to so many people. I think that’s ironic, by the way, that Juliet’s house would be a place of hope for lovers. Juliet had terribly crummy luck when it came to love. Yes she found it but do you know how that story ends? I still thought it was fun to see the balcony and all the letters to Juliet and the locks on the gate and the graffiti.
After Juliet we went and saw a couple of churches there and found Dante’s statue. We went up a tower (using the elevator most the of the way to save Mom’s knees) and got a pretty good view of the city. It wasn’t too spectacular compared to some of the others that I’ve seen here but Verona is small so I’ll give it a break. The first church we went to was Sant’ Anastasia and it had little hunchbacks holding the bowls of holy water! I thought that was SO funny. What really made me laugh though was Mom. She said, with a straight face, “Look at those hunchbacks holding the water. That was to wash their hands in, right?” At first I couldn’t decide if she was kidding so I laughed at her and said, “I am pretty sure that is holy water.” To which she replied disappointedly, “Oh, it would have been nice to wash my hands.” I just got this mental picture of her washing her hands in holy water and it still makes me laugh. Silly Mom.
We got to the old bridge, Ponte Pietra, they have that was bombed in World War II and went across that to find the Roman theater. With the theater there was a monastery that you could go up into, it was a museum now but I liked seeing the refectory and cloister and little monk rooms. The cloister was gorgeous and the terrace was also stunning. The monk’s rooms were surprisingly about the same size as my dorm room was or close to it. But the view they had was amazing. I might become a nun if I could have that view and that cloister and be able to do stuff for God all the time.
After the theater we decided to go to the Duomo here and look in that. It was really nice, it had a really cool painting by Titian of Mary’s Assumption. I am just going to throw this out there but I am a little sick of seeing Mary everywhere. I realize she is the mother of Jesus but really. I walked into a room with like 20 “Madonna con il Bambino”’s (that’s Mary with baby Jesus) and I just feel that’s a little much. I mean, Jesus deserves that, He’s kind of a big deal but I just don’t feel Mary should get THAT much attention.
ANYWAY, now that that rant is out, after all this we finally stopped for some lunch/supper. It was probably about 3 or so (Mom has been a real trouper about my eating schedules—I just get so into what we’re doing that I’m not even hungry) and we got some calzones. Mom got a fruit cup which she promptly spilled all over the side walk as soon as we sat down. So we got Mom another fruit cup and then went off to the train station. We decided to stop in Vicenza on the way home even though we knew everything would be closed. It’s the home of Paladio (who I mentioned a few days ago), the same Paladio who designed a nearby church that was really popular—sprouted a whole new style, any of this ringing a bell? Anyway, it’s kind of a nice place to go architecturally, it’s a pretty small town otherwise. They have an Olympic theater which was really huge and Paladio designed it towards the end of his life. We got to see the outside which was not inspiring but we saw it and then we saw a townhouse-type building he designed but it looks like a huge villa. It was actually really neat. We also saw the Duomo there. It was pretty simple on the outside. The inside probably would have been a lot cooler but again, by the time we got there everything was closed. So we came home on the train (I am now a pro at using trains here) and got home and I am just glad the day is done because I am going to pass out now. Padua tomorrow; should be lots of fun.
Oh and it was, of course, sunny and warm today. Mom and I had given up on the warmth and gone for layers which we ended up hauling around all day. I had broken out the jeans and my one long-sleeved t-shirt but Mom had a vest and a long sleeved shirt and a scarf and all sorts of nonsense. It was nice to get a little warm weather again though.
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