Valentine's in Verona

In a fit of poetic, irony-loving masochism, I decided to spend this Valentine's day traveling to the beautiful and romantic city of Verona. Alone. Fair Verona- home of the famous Romeo and Juliet, is a huge attraction for lovers on this holiday and unsurprisingly no one wants to hear your bitter reminder that not only were R and J fictional, they also killed themselves. I have wanted to visit Verona for quite a while now, and it was actually pretty empowering to head out alone with my camera to conquer the city before returning to my lovely bed and breakfast for a solo evening of wine and movies.

Friday morning I got dressed in a bright blue oriental print romper, packed a backpack with books and granola bars, grabbed my lovely new Canon Rebel and a pair of lenses and snuck out of my apartment in the chilly morning air. Sitting on the train I got to watch the sun come up over the countryside.

I arrived in Verona around ten and made my way to the lovely bed and breakfast I had treated myself to. I had never used airbnb before but man, will I be using it again! I stayed at A Verona da Giulia B&B with the sweet owner Chiara and her mother Giulia. They made my first solo trip wonderful, letting me borrow a bike, texting me during the day with restaurant recommendations, and generally being kind and welcoming. I can't recommend the place enough! After meeting Chiara and dropping my things off, I set out for the historic center. I was walking along with the flow of the crowd and suddenly found myself in front of the famous Casa di Giulietta!

As it was, in fact, Valentine's day, the courtyard was absolutely filled with cooing couples. They were writing their names on the walls of the entryway, taking photos on the balcony, and surreptitiously checking for loose bricks that would lead to a romantic hunt for lost love across the Tuscan countryside a la Letters to Juliet. That last one might have just been me...

Pigeons can be kind of pretty. Who knew?

After escaping the pheromones floating through Juliet's courtyard, I took a little walking tour of the city. Piazza delle Erbe is a beautiful square lined with frescoed buildings covered in climbing ivy and flowers. Dotting the edges are fancy cafes and filling the center around a marble well are stalls of goodies and souvenirs. Piazza Bra down the street is a mix of huge neoclassical buildings, brightly colored restaurants, the Roman arena, and a mini park with shady trees and a fountain. I bought a Verona Card, which cost €15 for 24 hours and got me into every museum and monument in the city, and took full advantage of it. The first stop was the Castelvecchio Museum.

As you exit the museum you can take a small flight of stairs up to the walls of the castle for a view of the river that encircles the city.

After the castle itself, I headed to the famous bridge, where they filmed Mercutio's death in the new 2013 Julian Fellowes Romeo and Juliet. 

I love all the little streets if Verona. I decided that if I had to pick an Italian city to live in, it would be this one. It's the perfect size, so charming, and completely surrounded by rivers, hills, and mountains.

For lunch I went to Chiara's number one recommendation, Osteria del Duca, for my first ever meal out alone. It was surprisingly okay aside from the pitying glances of the Valentines couples on lunch dates and me not being able to figure out where to look. I treated myself to a primo AND a secondo, recommended to me by the sweet old proprietress. For my primo I had pappardelle with duck ragù, and my secondo was a huge plate of warm polenta with sautéed mushrooms, melted gorgonzola cheese, and paper-thin slices of salami.

After lunch I made my rounds of the churches, which were absolutely incredible. The duomo is lined with elaborate chapels on all the walls and the painted ceiling of Sant'Anastasia is exquisite.

Sant'Anastasia

Next stop was inside the Roman arena in the main piazza. It was quite a hike up the huge marble stairs, but from the top there is a lovely view of the bustling Piazza Bra. I asked a sweet Belgian couple to take my picture and they kept asking me where my boyfriend was. I told them I didn't have one about four times and when they still didn't get it I told them he died in a skiing accident two years ago. That they got, and they were very sympathetic.

My final stop of the day was Juliet's Tomb, and I love this decidedly Asian statue that was in the entry courtyard. The tomb itself was damp and slightly moldy (and also, WHO is buried there?! Can we remember for one second that Juliet was fictional?) but the wishing well in the courtyard was beautiful and absolutely filled with coins from all over the world. I may have added a few myself. I know you're not supposed to say what you wish for but mine may have included "...so I never have to come back here alone."

As the sun was setting, I made my way back to my bed and breakfast, stopping in a tiny grocery store to buy cheese, salami, breadsticks, wine, and other little goodies for an evening of movies snuggled up in bed. It ended up being quite a nice Valentine's day.

(I would like to apologize to all of the friends to whom I snapchatted a video of myself lip-synching Celine Dion's All By Myself. Let's be honest though, it was only a matter of time before my life turned into the opening credits of Bridget Jones' Diary)

The next morning was sunny through a cover of grey clouds. I borrowed a bike and rode it along the river up to the hills north of the city. There's a ruined Roman amphitheater and a long flight of stairs up to an overlook of all of Verona.

On the way up I found this banner from the day before, proposing to some lucky lover. In English it says: "Here is where our story started, and here is where we start our life together." Che bella! I hope he/she said yes.

Ah Verona, you are fair indeed! Thanks for being my Valentine, I will definitely be back!