6/23 -- Explore More of Verona, Escape the Heat

We set out with Julie to walk to Castle Vecchio, visit a handcraft fair, take the funicular to a viewpoint, and walk back to Piazza Erbe for lunch. 

We managed to find the Castle despite misreading Google Maps, and enjoyed looking around some. The Handcraft fair was in an adjoining building and both Julia and I found treasures. 

House with a fresco remnant on the way to
the old castle.

 

Probably the balls are catapult ammo

 

Then we followed the river north, which runs around the old town peninsula like a natural 3-sided moat, to a funicular to the top of the tallest local hill. The views were wonderful and the breeze and shade at the top were welcome too.

Above/below: old and  new houses and below, a really
old remnant between them.

 

The funicular returning for us.

 

We took the stairs down and crossed the old bridge we had visited yesterday. As we verified where to go next, I saw the dress store that I thought looked interesting  yesterday and gave it a look. It is so hot, AND the start of a 5 day heat wave, that my dress up options for dinner were too warm. Both Julia and I found another treasure! Then it was on to Piazza Erbe and lunch. Jim and Julia got salads, and I got a little pizza, shared it with Jim, and saved the rest for breakfast, which tells you something about how much I have enjoyed the hotel breakfast so far.

Note the interesting menu options: above is
exotic for the US, below is strange in Italy.

 

We had planned to walk to the top of the Lamberti Tower, first built in the 1100s and rebuilt in the 1400s after a lightning strike damaged it. They wanted 5 euros each to walk up, which also covered an art museum we had no interest in and we learned that it was 368 steps. Having seen the view from the top of the hill and considering that it was after lunch and felt like 90 degrees out, we decided to save $$ and skip it. On our way to an ATM to buy more euros, I spotted a local vendor selling wood products, including a 2 piece slicing board for bread so the crumbs drop down in instead of finding the floor, so I added that to our growing collection to bring home.

On the way back to the hotel, we paused to walk around the arena, where three different operas are in rotation, changing each night. They use a crane to move the big pieces around and store them outside the arena.

Stained glass along the way

 

Back at the ranch, we read and snoozed and showered again to prepare for our dinner out. Julia and I wore our new treasures and discovered some of the other ladies had been supporting the local economy too. The restaurant served a yummy wine I have never heard of called Amarone, first made by mistake when they fermented partally dried grapes for too long. Add a new wine to my list of wines to look for!