September 22, 2011

September 21 and 22, 2011
Days 14 and 15 - On the Road and Verona

I didn't have it in me to post yesterday. I had the beginnings of a cold the day before and it came on strong yesterday. I felt like crap with a sore throat, lots of sinus pressure, and a headache. I feel better today. Thanks to the migraine medicine I took last night, Ricola, and lots of water!

Yesterday we left Altaussee and headed to Italy. We went through some amazing mountains and beautiful scenery. Rick has been so great about driving, our "ladies" did their usual arguing about route, and I slept part of the way but we finally made it to Verona at 5pm. What we didn't count on was how hard it was to find the agriturisimo at which we are staying! Forty minutes and a couple of phone calls later we made it!

Susan found this place through TripAdvisor.com. It is wonderful, and so is Marco the owner. He was very helpful in suggesting restaurants, places to see in Verona, and a couple of day trips. I think I'm the saddest yet that Susan and Werner aren't with us. They, especially Susan, would have loved this place and somehow, we are going to get her here in the future.

The agriturisimo mainly grows olives for oil here but they also have grapes, some fruit trees, pomegranates, a kiwi tree, a very beautiful vegetable garden. We're high up on a hill above Verona. There are only four rooms and so far we haven't seen the other guests. Here are a few photos:

View toward Verona

Another beautiful view

Our room is the window on the left

After an adventure at a self-service laundry, we headed into old Verona. Marco told us about a free parking lot which was just a few minutes walk to the Ponte Pietra. It is an old Roman bridge that was rebuilt from the original stones fished from the river after it was destroyed in WWII.

We wandered through the town. It pretty touristy but has an incredible amount of Roman remnants and those are what interested me the most. We had trusty Rick Steves with us on my iPad but mostly Rick Gumpertz led the way turning down tiny vias and into piazzas and piazettas.

We did find the "supposed" Juliet balcony. It looked just like it did in Letters from Juliet. What struck me was all the graffiti and, for some reason, gum stuck on the walls leading to the little courtyard. Rick thought people must have used gum to stick up their letters. Here's the other bizarre thing, besides it's probably a made up place, but there is a statue of Juliet and people line up to get their picture taken fondling her breast.

Around 3:00 we stopped at an osteria that Marco recommended and had a great lunch/dinner. I'm so excited to be in Italy and be done with the Swiss/German/Austrian cuisine. Not that it was bad, it's just that the styles were all similar in taste. It was delightful to have olive oil to dip my bread in. I think it may be in my head but the olive oil imported from Italy we get in the US tastes nothing like the fruity, extra virgin olive oil you get here. It's so delicious, I sometimes want to order it by the glass! Just kidding I'm sure the bread is part of the magic too.

I had fettuccine with peas and tomatoes and Rick had what was simply a hunk of melted cheese with potatoes and a bacon-like meat that he said was very nice.

We were the last diners for the afternoon (they close for a few hours between lunch and dinner) and we chatted with some of the staff. They helped me with some Italian words I couldn't remember the meaning of and were just very pleasant.

After lunch we meandered around some more. We checked out Roman arena and gate.We saw lots more Roman remnants, some beautiful frescoes, tiny streets, interesting statues, and even a L'occitane! We took a photo for my son, Daniel, who works at the one on the Plaza.

By that time, all I had energy for was to eat a gelato from the place both Marco and Rick Steves recommended and then walk back to the car. I don't know what the building is on top of that hill (some kind of church I'm sure but I do love the cypress trees in Italy.

Speaking about loving Italy. I so love it here! I love the way people sound when they talk, I love the easy-going nature of everyone, and I love the landscape. I'm on vacation so I'm not thinking of the politics, the past, or the prejudice perpetrated on my peeps. I'm in the moment and very happy here in it!