From Arena to Observatory, Random alleys and the lazy flowing Adige

My train stopped at Verona station, and I stepped out of the door. There were barely a handful of people who got in or out and walking around the platform. The air had a scent of peace and tranquility in it. Getting out of the station, I got into a taxi and announced my hotel's name. He nodded, and we drove on in silence as I was soon busy admiring the view outside the window. Like any city or town, there is the center where the story began years before, and then there's a town that grew up with time and population. In Verona, the center is behind a sort of a wall that gives you a fort-like feeling. The taxi entered through the walls, and the town's persona changed. Cobbled roads, two-storied structures sticking together throughout the lanes and crowd.

The taxi was in front of my hotel. I settled the fare as the driver removed my luggage from the car's boot. Entering the hotel, I walked towards the reception to check-in when the receptionist informed me that my room was not ready yet, and would take about another hour or so to ready. Instead of the room key, she handed me two options, take a stroll outside and explore the place or wait along in the lobby where three senior ladies had already established their base on the sofa. I looked in their direction, and three wise faces smiled at me; I smiled back. A minute later, I was outside, entering the large procession of tourists going everywhere. 

Opening Google maps on my phone, I went straight for the prize, Juliet's house. My primary intention of being in this town had to be the first place I visit. What luck! It was a barely 5-minute walk. Starting the directions, I followed the dotted line, and it turns out, half of the population that was walking along with me was going precisely in the same direction. As I reached the location, I saw the entrance was so crowded with people that it was impossible to get in. Of course, It was the weekend. It didn't seem any different than the crowd trying to catch a fast local train in Mumbai. Even with the human swarm, I caught a glimpse of Juliet's statue, somnolently staring at the crowd who had come to see her and her house. This place will have to wait, I thought. 

Turning around, I miny moed the two roads and picked the one less crowded. Soon, Fontana Madonna arrived. There was a small fountain with Madonna standing over the pillar in the middle. A few restaurants had put up their chairs outside for their customers to enjoy their meal with a view. Many of these chairs were booked by a pack of tourists back from town exploration and were ready for some culinary excursions. In the next hour's quick tour of the town, I realized how picturesquely Shakespearean Verona was. Somewhere I could understand why he chose this town to write one of the greatest love stories in history. The narrow lanes, the two-storied houses, the townish landscape, the picturesque flowing Adige, and the mystical gongs from the church tower would take anyone back in time to the epoch when life was simple and romantically Romeo and Juliet.

Arena of Verona

Rome's Colosseum has become a trademark monument in the world. When I started planning my trip to Italy, I understood that their arena was similar to India's water Baolis or Stepwells, the most common structure of that particular time. Some are still in better condition than our superstar in Rome. The arena is a few blocks away from Juliet's house, and I reached the place right before an hour of its closure. At the ticket counter, I received a concession thanks to the student ID. I entered the arena. An arena's basic structure comprises an outer wall and an inner wall that forms a tunnel-like corridor for the spectators to access all the entries to the seating area. The moment I stepped in the tunnel, it was nearly dark with white bulbs dimly lit, running across the ceiling that it gave me a feeling of walking in a mine. It was a cobbled pathway, making it a conscious effort to walk on and manage between holding my balance or avoiding a sprained ankle as I made my way towards the seating area. I wondered how sure-footed people must be to make their way to the seats in the arena or anywhere in the town. The stairs built to access the seating area were so high that grabbing the railing was more of a requirement, which also acted as a partition for the two-way passing crowd to climb up. It wasn't until I visited the Colosseum in Rome, where I found out the mystery behind the high stairs. The corridor that runs between the two walls goes all the way around the arena creating access gates for entry and exit. But today, it was partially lit and open for visitors, while the rest was barricaded and closed. I went up until the last lit bulb; I could see gates built at each interval to reach the seating area. All were officially closed except one. It was strange to see the monument nearly barricaded or closed for people who have come to see it. Moving on, I walked back and climbed through the one opened for visitors. As I walked back into the open air, the whole arena stood there in front of me. I must say, the sun was ready to set behind me and painting the arena golden yellow. What I was witnessing at that moment was beyond time and space. The view was magnificent, and the timing to make it here felt perfect!

The arena was nearly empty. Except for the workers engrossed in installing a stage at the ring for an upcoming event, there were very few tourists. Everybody was busy exploring or had taken a seat and enjoying the view. I also scouted for a vista place somewhere around the top rows and walked towards my spot. Taking a seat, I looked at the scene in front of me. Amid the light evening gale and the arena was gradually turning gold, as if Midas is touching them step after step. This pristine moment of nature, I wanted to capture it and frame it in my travel memory. Even today, when I close my eyes and remember Verona, I am sent back to this moment. My eyes were still closed when I heard an American couple talking and walking towards where I was sitting. Just then, the man said something I would never forget, "Imagine all the butts that must have sat here all these years." The women laughed it off, but honestly, my mind was poof! If we come to think of it, that information makes you realized that you've been sitting in the same spot where once a Roman sat and watched the activity happening in the ring. The couple continued towards the exit while I stayed there for some more moments of magic.

Soon it was quiet, and the sun was at the right location. The arena was displaying a contrast of light and shadow. The winds were becoming colder by the minute and had me cuddling my jacket a little. I closed my eyes and imagined how this place must be lighting up with Romans, their contagious enthusiasm spreading around the crowd and into the ring where the champions fought back in the days. I could almost hear them faintly cheering, the clash of metals and the roars for the competitors inside the ring. A loud whistle interrupted the cheers; the security guard announced the closure of the premise. I stood up to leave the arena along with the other visitor lot and headed straight for a Gelato.

Up to the Observatory

The following day was for spontaneous excursions. Checking the list of sights worth seeing, I made my way to the observatory on the other side of the river. The walk initially seemed like a piece of cake until I arrived at the bridge. So far, the shadow of the buildings provided easy passage, but from the bridge to the observatory, the sun made sure not to leave my sight. By the time I was on the other side of the river, I was ready to create my little stream of sweat, drained my energy to 50%, and adopted a slight headache. As luck would have it, there was scarcely any shade on this side. If I had to find a place to explore, I had to do it quickly. The distance to the observatory was less than 10 minutes from the bridge, and I also found a short cut, which was an uphill walk with large steps. I say, my common sense too was drained under the afternoon sun. Considering the shortcut showed not more than a 5-minute walk, it would take a fool not to take it, right? Well, I was wrong. It was the most unpleasant 5-minute walk of my life. Losing my way twice and ending up at a dead-end made those 5 minutes to 10 minutes, not forgetting the melting heat of the afternoon. The thought of giving up started blooming in my mind, but since I had come so far, I went on. When I reached the observatory, I could see nothing that could stand out of the ordinary. I felt like cursing my decision to come here when I noticed big tourist groups had gathered at the edge and were looking over at something, clicking pictures. There were also many benches were also installed for the public to sit. I made my way towards the edge and looked across. I could see the whole of Verona from up here. The view from the observatory was gorgeous! I stood under a tree as the cooling wind calmed me down, taking away with them the last strenuous 10 minutes of the climb and the uninvited headache. I could feel my energy charging again because of the view of magnificent Verona laid out in front of my eyes with a mystical haze spread throughout.

It was this view that brought everyone up here. I occupied one of the benches and watched the panoramic view of the town, where a tall bell tower stood in the middle, near the edge of the bridge, red-roofed houses silently gathered around it, and the river Adige flowing right through the town; an untiring vista for sure! I consider observatories to be the luckiest in terms of location. They get the vantage point for the skies and the landscapes as well. My feet were glued to the ground, not ready to leave this breathtaking scenery, but sadly places were waiting to be explored, and time was running out. Allowing myself an extra time to create another memory, I got up and began my way downhill.

Alleys of Verona

I was down the hill and back on the side of the river where my hotel was. The sun had calmed down too and was getting ready to set. I decided to explore the streets and alleys around the place. Putting my phone in my pocket, I walked around from one street to another, from one alleyway to another. This time, I did not need the help of any maps. The best part of this activity is, you get to know the town or the city as a person. Just like the way we explore a person through the endless alleys of conversations, I think it works the same with towns and cities.

Verona has beautifully preserved their early middle ages and medieval architecture, which you get to see while walking around the alleys and streets in this town. No wonder it comes under UNESCO world heritage site. Close constructed buildings, not more than two-story-high, still conserve the legacies that alive here since the medieval period. I crossed a few restaurants here and there on my way. Some were closed for business but opened for families only, and others opened for everyone, including families. It was a public holiday, and the families had their barbeque set up in the open, making toasts with wine and bobbing heads at Italian rock numbers at one place, and some enjoying classics with beers at the other. But amongst all, the irresistible aroma of Italian tradition and delicacies were deliciously inviting from every restaurant I passed by. In the end, when I finished my exploration, I made my way to a restaurant a few blocks away from my hotel and chose to explore my Italian palette.

The day was about to end, and I was nearing my hotel. For the sake of one more spontaneous act, I took a turn and went to the first bar, ordered a drink. Swirling the day's adventures along with the ice cubes, I sipped my affair with Verona watching the crowd filling up the town of Verona with new history.