In the “Cudablin” project, we send completely different people on trips at our expense! Diana Lesnichaya visited Verona: she learned the love stories of Italians, saw Lake Garda and felt like Juliet. More details in her report!
Alora! I have never been able to fully understand what this truly universal word means in Italian. My journey was so swift that it seems that I simply dreamed it. And yet, during the 2 days of my trip with OneTwoTrip, I managed to see not only Verona, but also several towns around Lake Garda. A dream come true in a square! But first things first. If life or OneTwoTrip gives you Verona, take it! I received a romantic assignment for the trip, just in time for February 14th. I had to find three couples of elderly Veronese people and find out the stories of their acquaintance. I was preparing for the trip with 150 euros in my pocket and a great desire to embrace the immensity.
An excellent flight from S7, 6 euros and 15 minutes by bus from the airport to the Porto Nuovo train station, another 10 minutes on foot and now I’m in the historical center of the city at my temporary home. I am a picky person: I always take a long and painful time choosing hotels. And I was almost torn from doubt while I was deciding on a hotel. But in the end I was satisfied with my Hotel San Luca. This is a full-fledged hotel, not a b&b (bad and breakfast, a small hotel for bed and breakfast – editor’s note) with one toilet for three rooms for the same price. The price of my stay included a modest breakfast, from which I took with me a couple of divine croissants, a bun and fruit. I was sorry to waste time on a full lunch instead of sightseeing, so such a light snack was very useful.
I arrived in the afternoon, quickly got to the hotel and immediately rushed to explore the surrounding area using a tourist map taken at the airport. If you plan not just to walk, but also to explore everything from the inside, you will definitely need a special pass for guests of Verona. For 18 euros per day you can enter almost any museum in the city for free. The hotel will always tell you where to buy it. I only had half a day and decided not to buy a card. Italians are wonderful and hospitable people. Any local resident was ready to explain in detail how to get where, and even guide you. Remembering my responsible mission from OneTwoTrip, I decided to combine business with pleasure and asked directions only from elderly couples, in order to at the same time find out from them the stories of their acquaintance. That’s how I met Bianca Maria. Bianca explained the route to me easily, but the love story turned out to be more difficult: the elderly locals hardly speak English. But we understood each other. First love story DONE!
I decided to leave the Arena for the last day (Arena di Verona, an ancient amphitheater on the main square of the city, now a concert venue – editor’s note) and went along the main shopping street to Juliet’s house. The hotel told me that there was nothing to do on the balcony itself. I spun around below and ran on. Verona is incredibly compact, so I managed to visit the Square of Herbs next door (where I had dinner in the evening),
I went to the stunningly beautiful Ponte Pietro, or Peter’s Bridge, and even saw Verona from above. Out of curiosity, I decided to climb the stairs in the narrow alley across the road from Ponte Pietro. The staircase turned out to be endless and suddenly led me to the observation deck. Such beauty that it takes your breath away!
I chose the place for dinner on the principle of “where there are more people”: it turned out to be not very tasty, but very fun. I went to bed early because I was going to get on the bus to Garda at 6 am. As a result, I left at 8, and for good reason: along the way I met the amazing laugher Edda from Verona. A guy from Sri Lanka helped us explain: he spoke a little English and a little Italian. Second love story DONE!
I wanted to visit the mountains so much that the three-hour shaking on the bus didn’t scare me. An all-day pass cost 10 euros – ideal for those who like long stops. You can disembark and move on again as many times as you like. The first stop I got off at was Malcesine.
From the bus I went to look for the funicular to Monte Baldo. There was not a soul at the lower cable car station, although the ticket office was open. I was afraid that I would freeze, that the funicular would break, and many other terrible things, but I still went up. Instead of a cool view from the mountain, I received a snowstorm, -5 degrees and a glass of prosecco as a gift from the local carabinière. He became my third storyteller!
Having descended into the city, it again seemed that everyone around had died out. I even felt a little uneasy, but the local beauties quickly diverted attention to themselves. Narrow streets, neat houses against the backdrop of Garda – incredible beauty! The wind was so strong that I managed to feel like Merry Poppins and Ellie and Toto at the same time. The next bus took me to Riva del Garda. My final destination, to which I give the prize for the most beautiful view. I walked around, took photos and headed back. It’s a pity shipping is closed in winter, although then I definitely wouldn’t have returned home by nightfall.
Verona greeted me with rain, a delicious dinner and a cold bed. Heating there is very bad (as in all of Europe),
and warm pajamas turned out to be just the thing. It was raining this morning. I ran to Juliet again, walked around Castelvecchio (city museum of medieval painting and sculpture – editor’s note) and remembered that I didn’t go to the Arena. But it was already too late – a suitcase and a plane were waiting for me. I’ll be back to Verona, it’s not for nothing that I forgot my hat on the bus!
Whoever held my camera these days: fishermen, sellers, postmen on mopeds, waiters and, of course, helpful tourists. I don’t really like traveling alone, but during these two days there was simply no time to be bored. And it’s generally difficult to get bored with sociable Italians. As a photographer, I can say that early, and sometimes very early, visiting attractions guarantees you a beautiful view and the absence of a crowd of tourists in the frame. So don’t be lazy to get up early if you want to get really good shots.
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Text and photo author: Diana Lesnichaya (@lesnichka)
