Friday, February 24, 2012

Verona: Shakespeare, History, and A Lot of Dogs

Located between Milan and Venice, the city of Verona is well known in the English-speaking world as the setting to Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. It is a beautiful city, as Dad discovered on Valentine's Day. He was traveling by train (without me) in northern Italy and missed a connection in Verona, so he took the opportunity to venture out into the city center.


His first stop was the Roman Arena, where his grandma Clara attended the Opera Festival. Dad likes to go to places where his grandma Clara traveled because he can feel her presence.


Then he went for a stroll in the Old Town.


He walked across the Ponte di Pietra (Stone Bridge) to cross to the north shore of the Adige River.


He scampered up to Castel San Pietro (St. Peter's Castle) to enjoy the scenic view of Verona.


Castel San Pietro is a favorite destination for Mercutio, who enjoys his afternoon uphill power-walkies with his own grandma.


Dad walked back to the city center...


and met fashionable Rosaline in Piazza dei Signori (Square of the Lords).


On the advice of a fufu dog named Friar Lawrence,


Dad climbed to the top of Torre dei Lamberti (Lamberti Tower) to enjoy another great view of Verona.


After a quick detour to see Juliet's House...


it was time to head back to the station by way of the Arena...


where he met Romeo, a gorgeous weimeraner who bears a striking resemblance to my fur-brother Truffle.


Romeo promptly sent me a dog-gram,


which I shared with Truffle.


According to the Bard, one should not leave Verona...


but Dad had to, and took a photo of a Verona poopy sign on his way back to the train.


Practical note: the area outside the Porta Nuova train station is very ugly and unsafe at night. The sights are about a mile northeast of the station.

41 comments:

  1. That view of the city and river is lovely. Verona is a lot bigger than I imagined. How come there's a Juliet House? Wasn't it a work of fiction then? Love the name Friar Lawrence lol.. That scoop poop sign is great too. You don't need to speak the language to understand what it means!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's supposedly the house of the Capulet family that inspired the storyline "Romeo and Juliet" is based on. The city of Verona turned it into a cash cow by calling it "Juliet's House" :)

      Delete
  2. Thanks for the great tour of Verona. There sure were a lot of pups around.

    Cindy

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a wonderful tour of Verona! It was fun to see the sights and all the dogs!

    Your pal, Pip

    ReplyDelete
  4. Again great pictures. What a great place to visit.

    ReplyDelete
  5. The views were wonderful, like I was there. But you know I liked the view of the Weimeriner (not sure way hehhe). Have a wonderful weekend.
    Blessings,
    Goose

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. BOL!!! Dad gets super-excited when he meets a weimeraner because weimeraners look a lot like my plott hound fur-brother Truffle :) Goose, you would love Truffle, he's such a sweetheart!

      Delete
  6. Wow...never saw pics of Verona before. It be a very historic place. There are lots of doggie residents in Verona! :o)

    ReplyDelete
  7. I was in Verona! It was very pretty. (Also I love how you take pictures of poop signs everywhere. That should be a book!)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope I also get to go there at some point. I'm glad you love our poop signs :)

      Delete
  8. Verona looks awesome!! What a beautiful place and your Dads pictures capture it perfectly! Love that one of the Roman Arena. Wow!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Mom went to Verona last August, and she has to say, Wow your dad captured some good photos. It was very crowded and busy in the middle of Verona and near Juliet's house. SO BUSY. She was amazed at how crowded it was. But this gave Mom some good memories. She loved Europe, and Verona is one of her favorite cities.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! We're glad we brought back your Verona memories!
      Dad deliberately took his picture of Juliet's House in such a way that it seems like nobody was there, but he reports that Juliet's House appeared to be under siege by countless couples, because it was Valentine's Day :)

      Delete
  10. Verona looks Beautiful.. and very Dawg Furendly... I don't understand why YOU didn't get to go.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well...the main reason I didn't get to go is that I had to go back to the States with Mom. But Dad keeps me posted by having doggies send dog-grams to me and Truffle :)

      Delete
  11. Thanks for the tour. Looks like a great place for people AND dogs.

    XXXOOO Daisy, Bella & roxy

    SHE says that areas around train stations are usually ugly...but whether they're put up in ugly areas or areas become ugly because of the trains we're not sure.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well...in Italy it is often the case that major train stations and their surroundings were bombed out of existence in WW2 and were later rebuilt with little regard for aesthetics; that's exactly what happened in Verona.

      Switzerland is very different that way: Swiss train stations usually look very pretty :)

      Delete
  12. It's so beautiful! I've always wanted to go to Verona
    Dachshund Nola

    ReplyDelete
  13. Beautiful photos! I didn't know you had a brother. We love Plott hounds! And Truffle is a cool name!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Verona, most of Italy in fact, is the Mama's #1 dream vacation. She is saving up for her dream vacation.We loved your photos :0)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! I think Dad did a pretty good job with those photos :)

      Delete
  15. I love the sign but I could not understand the words placed on it.

    You're one lucky doggy to have a dad that goes to different places. I hope your dad brings you there.

    I just figured out how to follow my followers. LOL.

    Huggies and Cheese,

    Haopee

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It just says that it's mandatory to pick up doggy poop, and dad doggies must be leashed up.

      Cheese? Where is it??? BOL!

      Delete
  16. Sure is a lot of dogs! I wish I could be there! There`s a dog park regular who is a weimaraner puppy. WAY too much energy!! He has run me over a few times.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Truffle is a senior doggy citizen now, but I'm told he used to have lots and lots of energy!

      Delete
  17. What a beautiful city! I'd love to visit there and walk around.
    Maybe your dad will take you there some day...you will have lots of fun meeting woofie friends :-)

    ReplyDelete
  18. How nice of Dad to share such a beautiful and interesting account of his trip, and to say hi to Verona's dogs for you. What a lovely place. I hope he takes you there soon, Tootsie! Christa & the pack

    ReplyDelete
  19. Wow Verona, how interesting and what a romantic place

    ReplyDelete
  20. What a great tour of Verona! Thank you for showing us around. :)

    ReplyDelete
  21. I've always wanted to go to Italy... how lovely!

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...