A Morning Stroll Through Verona

A Morning Stroll Through Verona

We arrived in Verona in the early afternoon and decided to explore. As expected, the city was quite crowded. But I can't blame anyone; the city is beautiful. There's something enchanting about a city surrounded by a wall, like a little island in the middle of the modern world. Long story short, we knew we had to experience the magic of this city, even though it was challenging with the crowds.

So, we decided to wake up early and go out before the crowds.

As dawn turned to morning, we found a quaint little coffee shop to sit and soak in the serene atmosphere. It was only an hour or two, but the reward of that morning stroll was worth the effort.

There was a calmness to our walk, finding a pink Vespa that matched a pink dress, brushing against hanging plants, and feeling the cobblestone streets beneath our feet. As we wandered the narrow streets, the buildings towered over us, leaving us without a sense of direction—just as we liked.

Walking through the empty city streets that morning was one of the most peaceful experiences you could imagine. Without a tourist in sight, just students walking to class and locals going to work, it felt like we were transported—maybe not through time, but we felt a bit closer to the heart of Verona.

When I look back on the pictures of my smiling wife on a pink Vespa, spinning in the empty streets, I can taste it once again.

As we looked forward to the itinerary for the day, we planned some sightseeing at Casa di Giulietta, the Coliseum, and Piazza delle Erbe. Before we did that though, it was important to take ourselves out of the tourist role and feel like locals. We may never exchange a "buongiorno" with a friend or give directions in Italian to a delivery boy, but we could breathe in that morning air in a city so rich with history and culture.

By taking that morning stroll, we carved out a little piece of Verona for ourselves... and that slice may have been the tastiest.