wandering around verona, italy

Now, to begin… I have done quite a bit of solo traveling in my day. Including 9 trips cross-country in the U.S. by car. Solo. Without a cell phone. Or GPS. Back in the day, I went to college in southern California, and starting with my sophomore year, I had a car with me at school. So I did many summer trips back and forth to New Hampshire. Alone. I drove all over the place on my trips to and fro, taking in many states and many sites.

And it was glorious. I can say I am at my very happiest when I am traveling.

But here I am at 33, and I had never traveled out of the country alone. Until last week when I took the train from Munich, Germany to Verona, Italy by myself. And this time was really no different; I had no cell phone.

The entire experience was highly liberating. I felt such a sense of adventure and freedom. I think it helped that I had been to Italy before, having traveled via tour bus to Venice, Montecatini, Florence, San Gimignano, and Rome as part of my honeymoon. Craig and I spent about a week in Italy, and I fell absolutely in love.

How could I not choose Italy again as my destination for a solo adventure? I picked Verona because I had never been there. I had researched the city and knew it was utterly walkable, filled with history and architecture, and easy to get to via train from Munich.

So when I got off the train at the station in Verona, I was so excited. First of all, the temperature was a wonderful 60°F. It smelled like Spring! And also a little bit like cows. I had no map on me, but I had researched the city, so I had a pretty good idea of where to start walking. I just followed where everyone else was headed. The old city walls were about a 15-minute walk from the train station. And when I entered the city walls, I immediately got giddy.

Verona is BEAUTIFUL.

I walked into the Piazza Bra and was astounded by the size of the Verona Arena. It is astounding. It was built in the early first century A.D. It is old!

It truly frames the city. I walked all the way around it, and then I headed further into the city on the cobbled streets… very happy that I had invested in a trusty new pair of Keens before my trip!

I was hungry after my travels, and I set off along the narrow streets and alleyways in search of a late lunch. I was worried that I was too late to find a good place to eat, because I knew that Italians were apt to close up shop for an afternoon rest. But, I lucked out when I wandered upon the historic Piazza delle Erbe without even trying. Cafes!

I quickly chose a place to eat, based soley on its people-watching potential. I got a seat and waited for the menu.

I opted for wine and pizza. The perfect Italian lunch. I chose a nice Chianti from nearby Tuscany, and I picked my pizza based on what the lovely Italian woman in front of me was eating… it looked so good!

My pizza was huge. It had thinly shaved ham on it, olives, capers, artichokes, anchovies, and whatnot. It was very delicious, although I still cannot say I love anchovies. I ended up picking them off.

It was just so delightful to be in Verona after a 5-hour train ride, eating at a cafe in the mid-afternoon in February without a jacket on. It was so much fun to hear Italian being spoken all around me. I can pick up bits and pieces because I know Spanish, but I definitely felt out of my element.

And instead of feeling apprehensive, I felt positively invigorated.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 17th, 2011 at 11:59 pm and is filed under The Daily Balance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.