Verona

For the second week in March, I decided to travel to Verona – the town depicted in Romeo & Juliet. I went to see my friend Laila, and our friend Avanti that flew in for Spring Break. I had the genius idea to hop on my train and then call my friend Laila and tell her to pick me up at the train station, instead of calling her beforehand and giving her the details.…….Two minutes into the train ride, I realized that I had forgotten my phone. This was my first trip alone, I did not have her phone number, I did not remember any phone number, my phone had no internet, and I was going to get into Verona at 10pm with no map or Italian skills. (Both which I’ve decided to ignore in an attempt to just have fun and treat this semester as a vacation). So, I hopped off the train and went to the McDonald’s in the train station – which claimed it had wifi. The goal was to get on facebook (from my iphone – which I never forget).and message Laila – or ask one of my roommates to call her from my phone left at home to call Laila and tell her to COME AND CLAIM ME. Nobody spoke English, and I apparently needed my Italian phone to connect. This man attempted to help me for 30 minutes as I sat there debating to get a hotel for the night, before Laila rushed in. If you know me, very often do I show excitement – this was one of those times. Somehow she had communicated with my roommates and figured out I had left my phone at home. I spent the next two nights in her apartment, which was big and really cute. The next day she had class, so I was left alone to explore Verona for 4 hours on my own. I walked to Piazza Bra, which was lined with designer shops and nice restaurants that overlooked the beautiful arena. The arena is a mini colosseum basically. I also went to Piazza Erbe and looked at the tent shops. Afterwards, Laila and I made a delicious homemade Italian dinner – complete with store bought chocolate bread. We made plans for the next day and for our day trip to Milan. On Saturday, we were walking past castel vecchio (bridge to a famous castle) when I saw a lovely sign that Romeo and Juliet was being filmed. Upon investigation, Laila and I discovered that Ed Westwick – CHUCK EFFING BASS was there playing the role of Tybalt. I told Laila we would be spending the whole day there waiting for him to come out – seeing him would be the highlight of my study abroad experience – and I got very lucky! After pondering around the area for 45 minutes, we saw him come out all dressed in medieval attire with long hair. Not going to lie, it took me a while to recognize him – but my friend Laila finally convinced me it was him. We tried to get autographs since there was not a huge crowd, but we couldn’t get through security. Nonetheless, I was VERY content J. Afterwards, we went to Juliet’s House and I went inside and took pictures on her famous balcony. The house contained a ton of furniture and costumes from the original movies, as well as several paintings of Romeo and Juliet compiled by artists throughout the year. I did not write a letter to Juliet wishing for a long lost lover, but I did rub her breasts on a statue to get good luck in finding a lover in the nearby future. Afterwards, we went and picked up our friend Avanti from the train station and went back home to freshen up. We choose a very authentic Italian place for dinner, and I was nervous to go because I knew the vegetarian options would be limited. I got a glass of red wine from the Veneto region, an appetizer that was squash baked with sweet cheese, and a pasta dish that tasted like smoked leaves. It was not the best meal I had ever had, but it was a good experience. As the 3 of us were walking home, we encountered one of the best things ever. There was a carneval festival happening in one of the main piazzas in Verona! It was really, really amazing, for a small town like Verona. There were dozens of large floats playing fun music, hundreds of dancers going around in a parade, musicians and magicians walking around doing tricks and throwing prizes and confetti at people and more. I “got confettied” about 5 times without expecting it – and I actually enjoyed it without being concerned about how I would get it off my coat and out of my hair. At one point, two of the performers came over to pick me up and pour confetti all over my hair. We stood around, took pictures and blew bubbles for a while before trekking our way back to Laila’s apartment. We were so happy to randomly run into the festival, because it was a great ending to my time in Verona.