"What's in a name? ...

... That which we call a rose

by any other word would smell as sweet.

So Romeo would, were he not Romeo called,

retain that dear perfection which he owes".

Those immortal words from Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" were spoken from this very balcony in Verona! The balcony of Juliet's bedroom in the Capulet villa. And we have now been there (with the snowdome to prove it!).

Aside from the balcony, Verona also houses an ancient Roman arena. It is one of the best preserved ancient sturctures of its kind, and has become internationally famous for the large scale opera performances held there every summer. Whilst we were there people were scurrying about breaking down the set of Aida from the previous evening and building up the set of Madame Butterfly for the following evening! Literally a who's who of the opera and classical music world have performed here over the years; and in more recent times it has also been the scene of concerts from everyone from KISS, Simply Red, and Kylie Minogue, to Pink Floyd, Elton John and Pearl Jam.

Verona also has its very own castelvecchio (fortress) and was one of the most important military constructions of the Scaliger dynasty that ruled the city in the middle ages. And at the time of its construction, the bridge leading to the castle featured the world's largest span.

Was definitely worth the train journey to Verona.

Alli xxx