Verona!

Just got back from the BEST weekend EVER! Thursday morning I left early for Milan. I got there around 11am and since I wasn't able to check into the hostel yet, I went straight to the Duomo. As I was trying to decide which metro ticket to get, a man came up to me and "helped" me. Then, when my change came out, he asked if he could have it. WOW, that's one I've never seen before. Anyway, the Duomo was gorgeous! I climbed up to the top where you literally stand on the roof, surrounded by the amazing architecture, and look out over the city. It was fantastic! Then, I went to a castle that, unbeknownst to me, had a great fountain in front of it-- and you know how I feel about fountains! After meandering around the castle (complete with a drawbridge and everything!) I went to the hostel to check in. Originally, I wanted to go straight to Lago Como after that (in hopes of running into George Clooney), but it didn't make sense in terms of time. So instead, I sat down at a restaurant in an awesome indoor (but really outdoor) mall and had a delicious mushroom pizza as I watched the passersby.

When it got dark, I headed back to the hostel and although I wanted to go right to bed, the one other girl in the eight-bed room with me wasn't back yet, and I felt weird going to bed without meeting her. So I waited for her, expecting to go to bed moments after she walked in. However, within minutes of her walking in, we were chatting as if we'd known each other forever! She's Alix, from Texas, traveling Italy for 3 weeks on a budget from her school. Turns out we have everything in common, and stayed up all night talking. I knew I had to wake up at 6am to get to Verona, but I figured it was worth it to make a friend. It was!

The next day I got up bright and early and got on the train to Verona. Of course I bought my ticket myself even though I should have known better. On the train, I was reminded why I hate the Italian train system as much as I do. I had the wrong ticket (Regional, not this or that, or whatever) and had to pay an extra 15 EUR. Freaking Italians and all their loopholes. Anyway, I got off the train in Verona and rain to Ashley in slow motion. Just kidding, we...walked quickly, but it was very exciting! First, we set out to find the hostel and were AMAZED at how amazing it was. Seriously, it was like this woman had just taken her really beautiful, well-decorated apartment and turned it into a B&B. It was gorgeous! Balconies with a view of the city, elegant curtains and bed sheets, a breakfast room with a white couch and floor-to-ceiling corner windows. Anyway, we didn't stay long. We left our luggage and went out to sightsee. At the first attraction, the Arena (much like the Coliseum in Rome), the woman at the ticket office told us we could buy this little card for 10 EUR and get into 13 different attractions free, for the day! WOOO, savings, baby! So we did and went church hopping, saving about 15-20 EUR. We strolled the biggest piazza, lined with vendors, and climbed to the top of a tower to take in Verona from above. Amazing. We also went to Juliet's house, where I got to rub the statue's breast for good luck. YES! For lunch, we ate outside (it was GORGEOUS out) and Ashley and her friend Moe used their mealpoints to pay! Apparently their plan is accepted at select restaurants all over Italy and they just happened to have a TON of extra points! We were all so exhausted from lack of sleep that after having seen 6 of the biggest sights, we decided to se reposer at the hostel. BAD idea. Even though Ashely kept saying "Don't fall asleep! Don't fall asleep!", we did. And we forced ourselves to wake up an hour later with dessert as an incentive. We stopped at a gelateria nearby and bought cannoli (Moe's first ever!). But we were VERY dissapointed when the cream was ICE and filled with fruit gummies. We tried to find some real cannoli, but to no avail. Instead, we bought a tiny Tiramisu and sat in a park and shared it. Then, we went to bed. At 8pm. =)

The next day we woke up at 8 for breakfast. The large table was all set for us and it smelled great. We helped ourselves to cereal and then decided to try the chocolate cake. It was DELICIOUS! So we decided to try the the cake that was next to it, too. Even MORE delicious! When the owner walked back in, hald the cake was gone. She said, "Vi piace la torta?" And we were like, "SI!!" And she said, "Ho fatto io." WHAT?! It did seem really warm...and smell fresh. She made it herself this morning. I'm telling you, this hostel was something else. After an amazing breakfast, we bought another discount card, went church hopping again, and again saved a ton of money! We also saw Juliet's tomb and went two museums. One was in an old castle (Castelvecchio) and was a great combination of art and castle. It was right on the river, too, and the view at times was breathtaking. Behind the castle was Ponte Pietra, a gorgeous brick bridge, where you could climb to the top for another great view. We had another awesome lunch, on Ashley and Moe's program, and then headed back to the hostel to get our stuff for the train station. Oh, and it was supposed to rain all day but it didn't start until we were on our way to the station! Perfect. That's what the weekend was, overall. Perfect.

Pictures to come. =)