Day 2 - Verona & Padua

The night train from Paris to Verona was a great experience, though we didn't sleep much with one huge snorer (and not even me!) in our cabin. But I met a girl from near Verona who answered all my questions and gave me insider tips; she was super nice, and I hope to stay in touch. She even told us when we would pass Lake Garda, which offered a stunning view:

After being treated to the best Italian cappucchino and a croissant at the bus station we said good-bye and I wandered down to Verona. Please, pleeease stop here if you are anywhere near it, the city is amazingly beautiful and cute and you feel as if you stepped back in time. Juliet's house is one of the main attractions; I felt that the entrance fee to go inside was a little high for what was shown, but the feeling of standing on Juliet's balcony (from where she talked to Romeo!!) is simply amazing. Yes, yes, the accuracy is not accepted by all, but if you believe in it...

After lunch in a little cafe in a side street that just allowed the mid-day sun to shine down on the tables, I did a second round of tours and discovered the Piazza del'Erbe and the Piazza Populi, where street musicians began to play and I stretched out in the sun... Well, until this old Italian guy started talking to me and wanted to ask me out for a coffee. Kinda sweet... if creepy. I graciously refused and he kissed my hand when we parted ways. Old manners, old manners... In the afternoon I decided to skip the museum, buy myself gelato for that money and sit around a little more before taking the train to Padua. And in Padua, I first lost the way, then found the main cathedral (that I wasn't looking for), within the cathedral the dried tongue of Saint Anthony (a relique) and then finally found the hostel, which is good, if very business-like, and almost nobody is there. Might have to do with the fact that they have a curfew at 11.30... Which is why I'll see more from Padua now. Ttyl!!