Romeo, Romeo, Dove Sei Romeo?

For once I'll be true to my word - I said I'd post the answer on Monday to the balcony question. Well here it is Monday and here it is the answer.

The Casa Capuleti (right) at Via Capello 27 is one of the big attractions in Verona - even at night when the gates are closed people come to peek through them. And of course any true lover has to leave their mark as a tribute to the unhappy pair of kids who started it all.

Just click on the graffiti covered gate to the Casa Capuleti and all will be revealed.


19 maggio - San Pietro Celestine

A Balcony By Any Other Name

I initially posted this with a poll which worked fine for a while and then messed up the coding for the site. I'm going to try it one more time - so though you may have commented or voted already, please do so again.

Of course Verona is the city of Romeo and Juliet. We have Juliet Kisses and Romeo Cakes in the pastry shops, there's the Romeo and Juliet Hotel, the Capulet Hotel, Ristorante Guiletta. Then we have the Casa Capuleti with its graffiti covered entrance into the garden where the great love story written by Luigi da Porto in 1520 begins on its tragic path - okay some English guy did his version of it but these translation things never really work.

Here's are pictures of a few balconies in Verona.





The answer on Monday - I promise!

Originally poste: 15 maggio - San Giovanni-Batiste di LaSalle

1000 Miglia

Today was day 2 of the 2008 Mille Miglia - the great annual motor race from Brescia to Roma and back. Tonight at around 2100 the first of 388 cars registered in the race arrived at Piazza Bra in the centre of Verona. They did a circuit of the Piazza and headed down Corso Porto Nouvo and onward to Ferrara and down the south coast of Italy.

As we sat at diner at Osteria Casa Vino, just off the Via Roma, we could hear the roar of engines and catch glimpses of some of the incredible antique Alfa Romeos, Ferrari's, Aston Martins and Lancias in the race. The streets were lined with people taking photos and when a particular favorite entered the Piazza a general roar would go up.

We were tempted to get a better look but dinner was so incredible - Cod mousse on grilled polenta, cut with a fork crusted pork medallions with roast potatoes and cafe creme marscapone for me, Chicken liver pate, stewed rabbit with polenta and lavender creme brule for Laurent - we just couldn't rush away from it. And there was no way we could insult Gianetta and Rinaldo, the brother and sister team who run the Osteria, by leaving any of the food untouched.

But we needn't have worried - it is now 2345 and the cars are still roaring past our window at the Grand Hotel on the Corso. It reminded us both of the race car scene in Fellini's Amarcord.



15 maggio - San Giovanni-Batiste di LaSalle

KISS Me Stupid*

*No matter how much I try I just can't get those lightening Sses in any of the available fonts. I really must talk to BlogSpot about that.

When we wandered down the Corso Porto Nouvo in Verona this afternoon, after a pleasant ride through the Dolomite's from Innsbruck, we were greeted by hundreds of people in black t-shirts, face paint and Goth adornments. By the time we hit the famous Verona arena it had turned into at least a thousand - some teens but mostly people over 25 and many into their late 40s and 50s. What the hell was going on?

Then we realized that KISS was in town as part of their Live/35 World Tour and playing the 15,000 seat 2000 year old arena. The T-shirt sellers where doing record business but I declined Laurent's kind offer to buy me one - there were enough middle aged men with paunches wandering around trying to regain their lost youth as it was.

Later when we went out to dinner the concert had started and the restaurants surround the Arena where full of people listening for free. I'm afraid we decided on a really nice Osteria a bit further away. We are getting old but damn it the wild boar antipasti and grilled steaks and pana cotta where worth it.

And of course I didn't have the camera with me - we're sharing one at the moment but that's another story - to take pictures of the invasion of the KISS fans into the land of Montagues and Capulets.

13 maggio - San Giovanni il silenzioso