We had a very early morning, packing up and heading off on a bus. It was a long ride but we got to stop and visit the lovely town of Verona on our way. You might have heard of Verona – let me give you a hint – “Romeo, Romeo where for art thou Romeo“ – that’s correct, it’s the town where Romeo & Juliet lived, or so the legend goes. We went to the house that is thought to be the Capulet home where Juliet lived and saw the famous balcony.
But we also found out the Verona is so much more than a scene for a long time ago story. Verona has a Roman design and was a walled city about 2,000 years ago. The city’s location was perfect for Romans travelling through as they conquered and controlled much of that region. It was also aligned with trade route roads, and great location for merchants travelling along the Adige River.
Verona has been conquered and controlled by several groups through the centuries, including Byzantines and Austria (at different times). We noticed the influence of these different groups in the buildings around the old city centre.
As we carried on along our journey we decided to stop for lunch at Villa Serego Alighieri. This villa is a winery that started in the 1400s, and is still operated by the Alighieri family descendants. Over the 14th and 15th centuries the family purchased multiple properties in and around the Valpolicella region developing one of the largest and the oldest wine cellars and some very tasty wines (of course, we had to sip a little).
We finally reached our river cruise boat in the late afternoon and were all settled in and looking forward to cruise adventures over the next week.
Well Behaved Kids Travel 