Hello once again! So much has happened since I have last posted - I traveled an extensive amount of Europe for Spring Break. Consequently, I am going to break up my trip into multiple entries. This first one will cover the week before Spring Break during which my classmates and I traveled to Verona, and Vincenza. Then, we will continue on to an entry devoted to Venice. The following entry will cover Paris, France (oo la la!), and the last entry will follow my trip to Barcelona, Spain, so be prepared to travel all of Europe as you read about these beautiful cities!
VERONA: A rose by any other name would smell as sweet
So,
Verona, the city of loooove. For me, this stereotype proved to be true; I fell in love with Verona's juxtaposition of old world charm and modern amenities. Around the edge of Verona is placed the modern, commercial district, along with a busy street ring for transportation. Within the city, the roads are beautiful cobblestone and lined with the classic tall, connected Italian architecture. Do not worry, within the city there is also a lot of exciting sites to see, including the famed
"Juliet's balcony" which is a stone balcony set within a small alcove and marked by a bronze statue of Juliet herself and a gate covered in locks set by lovers to mark individual romances all over the world. The wall, unlike common belief, is not available for writing letters of romantic turmoil, instead mailboxes are offered for this service. However, we were able to witness an acting school act out the play in the very spot it took place in the story. Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo...*sigh*
The city also contains a long street paved in an almost marble-like stone and lined with
hundreds of stores filled with clothing, purses, shoes, and many other items - a shopping lover's dream! The street culminates at a very ancient stadium structure like the Roman
Colosseum - see the interesting juxtaposition of old and new? Around the corner is a bank designed by architect
Carlos Scarpa, a playful designer who uses context in an entirely new way.
For lunch we ate
Kabobs - no not meat and veggies on a stick, instead it is made up of layers of meat sliced up and put with salad-like veggies into a yummy toasted tortilla (I don't normally like tortillas, but yum!). The dish is absolutely delicious!
Verona Photos:
Juliette's Balcony
Colosseum of Verona
Juliette's Tomb
Bank by Carlos Scarpa
Inside the Colosseum of Verona
Vincenza: a Palladian exposè
We only stopped in Vincenza for a short time, but it proved to also be a beautiful Italian town. First of all, the best cup of hot chocolate (chocolate con latte) I have ever had came from a cafe near the start of our walk into the town. They had gormet flavors of rich, creamy Lindor Chocolate including white chocolate, cinnamon, orange, mint, and many others. I chose to try a carmel flavor, and wow was it delicious! They also gave me a small pack of cookies and a Lindor chocolate with the drink to complete the experience. Wow. Anyway, from there we entered a large, picturesque park with a little creek, an Italian villa, statues, grassy space, the works. Again, there was a long street of endless shopping opportunties culminating at beautiful architectural pieces. This made up the majority of our short visit.
The Palladian visit is directly near Vincenze: the Villa Rotunda by the architect Palladio. This symmetrical piece of architecture has become the basic foundation for architecture around the world for the display of basic principles such as symmetry, space, and other founding principles.
Following this we traveled to a cemetary designed by Carlos Scarpa, which combines the solemn attitude of death with the playful celebration of life. It was almost like a playground. The success of the project is up for interpretation, but I liked it!
Vincenza Photos:
Villa in Vincenza
Circles in Cemetery by Carlos Scarpa
Carlos Scarpa Tomb
This concludes the exploration of the Italian cities of Verona and Vincenza. Read on to explore Venice, Italy and the canals!
