Italy trip 2009

The whole trip in Italy was short- just one week in total. Three nights in the Cinque Terre along the coast, two nights in Venice and the last two nights in Verona before flying back to Singapore.

The Cinque Terre area in northwest Italy is a national park made mainly of five small towns along the coast, all connected though a network of hiking trails. It's a beautiful area full of limoncello, pesto, focaccia and fresh seafood. Unfortunately a huge storm hit all of Northern Italy for the whole trip so it was cold and wet the whole trip and only did one short hike between Monterosso where we stayed and Vernazza, the next town south. The view from the hotel in Monterosso
Riomaggiore- the town furthest south
A small limoncello production setup in Monterosso


After Cinque it was a long train ride to Venice and though this was my third time to Venice it was the fist time actually staying there on what's considered the main islands. Just as I had always suspected, it's a pain walking with your luggage trying to find your hotel in the maze of the Venetian streets... especially since it was also in the rain. It's not difficult and actually fun to wander around the city using the main markers for Rialto, Academia, etc. for reference but when you try to find a specific address... that's where it gets difficult. Eventually, theorecically, with enough time you can find any place in Venice (at least one time), and if not, it's best to just enjoy walking around or stopping at a cafe on a square to have a spritz and watch the tourists go by (there's something cilivized about this drink I like but could never find it in Singapore). On the second day we took the boats out to Murano and Burano islands.
St Mark's Square in Venice
The Rialto Bridge- used to be the center of finance and power for Venetian trade.


From Venice, it's a short ride to Verona on the way back to Milan. Verona is the location of Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet. It's also home to the Romans third largest arena at the center of the city which is still used today, mainly in the summer for a season of outdoor opera performances.
Juliet's Balcony- said to the location of the Capulet family house where the balcony scene in the play took place, though in reality it was set up to attract tourists who forget that it was actually a play and not reality where the scene occurred. Still, it's one of the biggest attractions in the town......and below the balcony is the statue of Juliet where a tradition of rubbing her breast (and having someone take your picture while doing it) began long ago. It's not unlike the tradition of rubbing the foot of St. Peter statue in the Basilica at Vatican City... though that tradition has been going on so long the foot has been replaced several times after gradually being worn away with every touch.. What will be the fate of Juliet's breast which has already been polished to a shine?... of course there's a boob job joke coming up in the future.

The Verona Arena- Completed in 30AD and still used today, it's the 3rd largest Roman arena built- the Colosseum in Rome being the first.

Night scenes in Verona