Verona: City of Tragic Love

Verona is best known for the story of Romeo and Juliet and their tragic love story. It's a cute little town near Venice and is full of tourists looking for luck in their love lives.

Juliet's balcony and home are located in Verona, a site identified using clues from Shakespeare's play. People have left their love notes and wishes all over the walls and come here to ask Juliet for luck, a little ironic considering how the story ends. Legend has it that if you rub the breast of Juliet's statue outside the balcony, she will bring luck to your love life! Her house has been made into a museum, complete with a balcony so any girl can feel as loved as Juliet if even for a moment. It's a little disappointed that you're no longer allowed to write on the walls (you could be fined up to 1069 euros!) because the whole point is for people to leave signs of their love or ask for it. People aren't even allowed to leave letters anymore, but can buy locks that say "together forever" and hang them on a tree.

Romeo's house is a little less exciting. The only way to tell it's his house, is a sign on the wall. The property is most likely owned by someone who does not want people intruding and "defacing" the building.

Verona is also home to Juliet's grave. Along the water, there is a grave site that has a statue and a sculpture of Shakespeare, which represents her grave. This place is not as well known and a bit difficult to find but worth checking it for fans of the play.

Verona itself is a very small but cute city that only requires a few hours to do all the sightseeing activities. Most people don't add this city to their list of places to see but they should, it's the birthplace of one of the greatest love stories of our time.

Ciao Venezia

Venice is the one of the coolest cities in Italy. It's comprised of a series of islands sort of shaped like a spiral and there are canals everywhere. And the city is so small that it only takes about 30 minutes to walk from one end to the other. The city is a little scary when you first see it at night because all of the streets look like little alleyways but in the day you can see how pretty it actually is. The alleys and the small bridges that cross the canals give the city it's small-town like feel.

I had the best in Venice out of all of the cities I visited in Italy. There was something about the sauce that set it apart from all the others I've tried. Having dinner by the canal is definitely one of my favorite experiences. The food is just so fresh, you almost don't feel bad about eating all those carbs....But you have to top it off with some delicious gelato!

One of the main attractions is Ponte Rialto, a bridge crossing the Grand Canal that has a street market. Venice is known for its colorful masquearade masks that are worn during Carneval and you can find them at every souvenir shop in the city.

Its other main attraction is Basilica San Marco, a beautiful church located by the ocean. The churches in Venice seemed a little odd to me because they had an unusual amount of open space in the middle, it almost feels as if something is missing.

There's also another church on the island of San Giorgio. You have to take a water taxi there but the church is very pretty in its simple way, and the island gives a great view of the Venice city skyline.

There doesn't seem to be much to do in Venice, but the way the city is laid out, its houses, shops and markets made it the prettiest city I've seen in Italy.