Gumbopirate

Atop Castelvecchio Bridge overlooking the Adige

As we prepare for our next trip to Italy in a couple of weeks, I figured it was time to catch up with the blog and finish posting about our last Italian adventure, back in May.  There are still several places we visited that I have not gotten to writing about yet.  One such spectacular place is the city of Verona.

Verona is located in the northeastern area of Italy known as the Veneto region, about an hour from Venice.  It was a wonderful place to stay as it was not as tourist-infested as Venice.  It is nice to not see all of the meandering tour groups and large crowds of photo-takers.  Instead, Verona was filled with Italians!

Verona at Dusk

Verona sights

We loved our hotel, Il Sogno di Guilietta, a tiny gem located in the heart of the city.  One of the awesome things about the hotel is that it hosts the courtyard and balcony that inspired Shakespeare to pen Romeo and Juliet.  Thousands of people come each day to take pictures under the balcony, rub the statue of Juliet for good romantic luck and even leave love notes in the cracks of the walls.  While the courtyard is a sea of people each day, the gates are locked at 6pm and then the courtyard is private for the guests of the hotel.  Such a beautiful setting!

Courtyard at Sogno di Guilietta under the Romeo and Juliet balcony

Pirate perched on balcony with a glass of wine

We also enjoyed walking the streets of the city and discovering the many beautiful public squares and watering holes.  The food in Verona is delicious.  Even an afternoon stop for a casual glass of wine ends up being a decadent display of savory treats.

Time for a snack!

Relaxing in the Piazza Verona

Finally, we loved visiting Verona’s Castelvecchio and walking across the castle bridge.  The view over the Adige River looking out to the city was amazing.

Karyn on the Adige River

Such a wonderful city!  Can’t wait to return one day soon.