pack up and ship out - we are in transition once again
our 3 days based at cislago over and heading to padua
a cross-country trip via autostrade across northern italy
very busy roads with plenty of trucks and general traffic
the terrain is quite flat and a range of mountains seen north
inexplicably though we also pass through several long tunnels
about 3 hours later we are cruising into the small city of verona
the plan being to spend the afternoon checking the sights here
arena parking signs grab our attention and lead us to that area
with the car abandoned in an underground parking station
we then load up and walk aided by google to the city centre
weird - no sign of an arena - surely it would be quite prominent
turning a corner and the lower than anticipated structure is seen
shades of the colosseum in design, shape and fractured condition
outside several large wire cages host piles of large fake weapons
and off to another side are some huge transformer-ish soldiers
ah - opera season - props no doubt for shows inside the arena
our group splits - the ladies - shopping - the bloke - fantasysing
with a ticket purchased for a self-tour of the inside of the arena
much loved scottish band simple minds played here in late 1989
the resultant film of the concert a superb mix of music and venue
and so it is that i walk around the venue with 'waterfront' in mind
it is dug down so inside is much larger than it appears from outside
huge blocks of granite used to make up the circular stepped seating
yet another building that defies belief in how it was constructed
but there it is - and what a brilliant theatre for musical concerts
kraftwerk having recently played a 3d show and now - opera
at ground level rows of red seats laid out in front of a huge stage
thinking - maybe we should score some tickets - na - not our scene
our gang of four then has a rendezvous at the famous juliet's balcony
overrated - a tourist trap - with all due respect to mr shakespeare
we walk down the white and pink marbled main shopping street
lots of name brand shops - jewellery, watches, perfumes, clothing
a reminder of the top-to-toe tv show documenting a trip in italy
and on this street - where everyone dresses up to go shopping
we wander to a market and indulge in yummy pottles of fresh fruit
the 12th century lemberti tower looms up 84 metres in front of us
shall we? you can - i will! so a ticket bought and 363 steps taken
terrific views of course from the top out over greater verona
the old town centred and beyond to the newer spreading city
this place certainly needs more time but we have to move on
back to the car and a drive to the lesser known city of padua
our apartment is quite central and is very nicely appointed
unpack and a-wandering we go on this beautiful evening
we find the central piazza well serviced by restaurants
pick a table - the white linen tablecloth is the clincher
then enjoy the best gnocci and spaghetti had for a while
some fine italian wine recommended to wash it all down
conversations had with a solo chap from nz seated alongside
all the elements combining to provide an almost surreal setting
looking forward to a couple more fine days in northern italy...
