Peschiera June 18

Upon waking to the very early morning sun that saturated and heated our yellow tent sleeping quarters forcing an immediate if lethargic evacuation. Basic questions that crossed my mind momentarily were: Will I poop? and Where are the matches? A single box or drawer would be useful for organizing. Rummaging through the duffel bag to find essentials for a morning light meal was a waste. I found the Gaz and instant coffee crystals and cups but no matches. I remember packing them in one of the zip lock plastic bags. Second and third attempts to locate them made me tired.

They, the noisy soccer fans, two boys and two girls, have retired back to their tent to raise a ruckus once more. A short morning in the fresh air seems to have ignited their hormones. The love play apparently went wrong as I hear one of the women shriek “Basta!” and leave the tent while shouting more Italian phrases that I will never be able to translate. The tone of her voice left no stone unturned. Two smiling men and the other woman emerged from the tent to gather around the blank t-v set. As the three of them were lighting cigarettes Richard went over with our tiny camp stove and accepted a light. Our meal consisted of instant hot coffee, cheese, bread and cherries.

The rising sun challenged our morning walking along the shores of the lake which eventually lead us into the town of Peschiera. My small umbrella that I alway pack for hot countries provided a constant shade tree. It rarely rains. Tourism is the business of the beautiful resort towns like Peschiera. Street merchants were ready for us on the piazza with free samples of their home-made or home-grown products such as wines, cheeses, fruits, vegetables, jellies, and sausages. All the tasty sampling made us hungry. While we enjoyed lunch at a nearby restaurant ( pizza, salad and beer) we decided that some of the good stuff we sampled at the market would make a great camp supper. Before beginning our afternoon excursion to Verona we wandered back to the market to purchase local sausage, cheese and wine. We also bought a lighter in a little shop

Everything we wanted to see in Verona was across the river. Every time we drove the car across a bridge we found a deadend circle that drove us back across the river. The message being that you needed to park the car and walk across the river. Every sight is a walk. We parked the car in an underground lot. The reasons for parking the car in an underground ramp were that it would be in the shade and we couldn't figure out what was legal parking above ground on the street. We walked across the Adige River on the Ponte Pietra near the Museo Archeologico; Roman Theatre. We did not stop at the museum because our main goal was to find the Roman Arena and we knew it was out there in that maze of streets and walkways and we must get started if we were to allow enough time for multiple deadends before finding... Well, you understand that the whole city is a museum and in large museums like this you must pick and chose the works where you will linger for more than a few seconds. After crossing the bridge we could see the bell tower for the Basilica of Sant' Anastasia poking skyward from the string of multi-colored two, three and four story buildings. The windows on the upper stories with their Gothic, Islamic and rounded arches seemed pixel worthy. As we turned the corner the largest Gothic church in Verona was shrouded by fences and warning signs. It seems that repairs and improvements are needed. It was challenging to find a door where we could enter to be enraptured by its magnificent works of art and architecture. The Altichiero and Turone frescoes were worn but worse they had little chunks missing. I suppose it was part of some important restoration but it did not look healthy. Aside from that it was a beautiful place to rest a few minutes.

We passed more impressive doorways and windows as well as a full force of mimes. They were cute with the children. How could they tolerate those heavy costumes? The melting temperature had been reached hours ago.

There was a big crowd at Casa di Guilietta (Juliet's House). Layers of love notes exist on the walls and doors of the house. On top of all the basic graffiti are Post-it notes with more love message on the order of carving a heart on a tree. The site sports a small balcony on the second floor and out in the courtyard is a bronze statue of a nude Juliet. Folks were rubbing her breasts because that gesture is suppose to bring a new lover if you want one. It was difficult to ignore the passion ignited by the house and courtyard. Several couples were in needed a room or a car.

My first view of the Roman Arena was a giant photo. It was a little grainy and was serving as a construction shroud which was more creative than the junk that covered the Basilica. We had been walking in the shade of all those charming buildings until now. It became necessary to bare our bodies to the intense sun in order to see the arena. Huge. They hold matinées and early evening opera performances. We were two days early. The cheap seats are the stones. If you have the cash you can sit on chairs on the main floor in addition there are a few rows of spendy bleacher seats with back rests. On days when they are not performing you can just visit for seven euros. Once inside, the stone arches lead to the various sections like any large arena. We made our way to the top of the stones to get a full view of the inside and the life outside. Shade in an alcove at the top and a convoluted breeze freshened our fascination for this Roman monument we came to admire. It was definitely worth the trip. A few fluffy white clouds encouraged us to explore everything including the stage where we were met and escorted back to where tourists belong.