verona.

on tuesday vivian and i woke up at the crack of dawn to be able to go to the train to go to verona. thank goodness for dominic's driving skills because we were running a bit late. we got on a really nice train and slept for a half hour. we did get in trouble, though, for putting our feet on the seats. we had to make a transfer in venice and we quickly got on another train. 6 minutes before we were going to get off, the conductor (or ticket guy.. hopefully not conductor because then no one would be driving the train) came and asked for our RESERVATIONS. vivian and i look at each other with wide eyes. we had gotten on this eurostar train, which costs extra beyond our passes. so we paid a fortune for this 30 minute train ride because we had to pay 6 euros on top of the reservation price for not doing it in advance. that really really really was a bummer.

when we arrived in verona it was down pouring. we drug ourselves to the little bed and breakfast that we booked the night before and found it pretty easily. the owner met us and was soooo sweet. her name is paola and the house is just two bedrooms and a bathroom. it is cozy and really nice. even a free washing machine, of which i took advantage. there is also a jacuzzi so viv and i bought bath salts at the store, changed into our bathing suits, and went to get the water started. however, there was no plug. we searched for about 20 minutes (with the help of the two other girls staying here) and had no luck. we were determined to take a bath so we called the owner. i guess the last couple that was here broke it. we were very disappointed. we get free breakfast too for only 45 euros total. here she is walking with us and her dog and also a picture of our room.

anyway, dominic told us verona was his favorite city so we took a detour here for the day. it holds the house of juliette from romeo and juliette. we're not sure if it's just a tourist trap, though. we didn't want to pay to see inside. here is the balcony, none the less.

after that we walked around to some churches, but i just couldn't pay to go inside a church i had never heard of before. i think that it should be free since i'm catholic--they should have a catholic card, like a student card so i could get in free. what if i wanted to go to pray? i wonder what the people who live there do. do they have to pay to go to church?

i ate a calzone, which was verrrry yummy. this was our little break from the rain!

vivian had to buy an umbrella because of the rain. 5 minutes into the walk, the stem broke. she tried to return it, but they were all broken so we continued on. 5 minutes after that, it blew inside out. then one of the bars broke. then later, the handle cracked off. it was a disaster. we continued on, though.
we went to a CASTLE, which was really neat. we pretended we were mario and luigi from super mario brother's and did dumb things. (yes we are 7 years old). we were dying laughing. jumping to hit the question mark boxes and hopping over things. the view was spectacular. the museum was lame and my umbrella was stolen. so we were left with only one broken one.

of course we had more gelato after that. and then shopped. i found a really cute shirt.

the sun finally came out, which made for some gorgeous pictures.



we went to dinner kind of early and planned to go back to the b&b for a jacuzzi. we were the only ones in the restaurant and the cook made us heart pizzas. it was cute.


the jacuzzi didn't work out because we couldn't find the tub plug. but we had fun talking with the girls also staying there from bulgaria.

today we traveled to florence. the hostel is SO nice. a sauna and swimming pool. we are laying low tonight and ready to go out in the morning!! we will be here until may 8th.

buonanotte,
e.


ps. mom, i thought you'd like the design on this house