Hotel Dalla Mora

Our hotel in Venice was the Hotel Dalla Mora. It got great reviews on TripAdvisor and was a quick 7-minute walk from the Piazzale Roma.

The room was large, by Italian standards but it didn't have air conditioning. There was free wifi and free breakfast.

We did have a view of a canal but I think most places in Venice have a view of a canal.

2016 09 14

ACTV

After leaving Treviso, we dropped our rental car back at the Marco Polo Airport in Venice. We took the ACTV bus into Venice. The ACTV is a city bus and takes just over 30 minutes to get into town. It makes a few stops en route. A ride into town is €8, but it's included in a Vaparetto Pass. The 2-day Vaparetto Pass is €42 per person. It's pricey but since each Vaparetto ride is €7.50, the pass is worth it.

An alternate bus into town is the ATVO. It's non-stop to Venice and takes about 20 minutes. Cost for the ATVO is about the same as the ACTV but the ATVO is not part of the Vaparetto Pass.

You can buy tickets at machines near the bus stop outside the airport terminal. The ACTV bus into town is the No. 5 Aerobus. Both buses terminate at Piazzale Roma in Venice. If your hotel is not close to the Piazzale Roma, you may want to take a water taxi but it's much more costly.

2016 09 14

La Terraza, Treviso

After we toured Verona, we drove to Treviso and La Terraza, our hotel for the evening.

The hotel is popular with conventioneers and it is located a 30-minute drive from Venice. I chose this hotel because by the time I realized we would be arriving in Venice 1 day earlier, it was impossible to find a reasonably priced hotel in Venice. This hotel fit the bill. There is free wifi.

Comfortable bed.

Modern bathroom with rain shower head.

Breakfast was included. That's a fried egg on the left--I love the orange yolks..

2016 09 13

Romeo & Juliet

Verona is known as the town where "Romeo & Juliet" lived.

In the early 1970s, a clever tour guide promoted this courtyard as the home of Juliet and attracted hordes of tourists. The house is part of a museum. Pay €6 to go inside and then stand on the balcony.

Enter the courtyard by passing under an archway with a cap on it, symbolizing the Capulets.

There is a statue of Juliet in the courtyard. Rub her breasts to help you find a lover.

On the wall are letters to Juliet, some stuck on with gum. 

There is also a red mailbox, where you can send a letter to Juliet. There is a "Juliet Club" that reviews the letters and awards a free trip to Verona to the sweetest letter they receive.

2016 09 13

Gelateria in Verona

Of course, we couldn't pass up a gelateria.

La Stagione del Gelato, located at Via Oberdan 4.

One scoop was only €1.50.

I got mango and it was creamy, full of flavor and delicious.

2016 09 13

Verona

I had never been to Verona and was happy my husband agreed on the detour. Verona is a very walkable city. We parked outside the city gates, near Piazza Citadella.

Only a small portion of the old city wall remains. This old gate is part of the wall. After parking, we walked through the gate to enter the old town of Verona.

Just inside the gate is Piazza Bra, the largest piazza in Verona and some say the largest in Italy. It's lined with cafes and shops. This is the start of Rick Steves' walking tour. 

 Comune di Verona (City Hall), on one side of the Piazza.

Arena di Verona--Roman amphitheater built in the 1st century, now host to concerts and operas. It's the 3rd largest amphitheater in Italy. On the day of our visit, there was a free concert but it wasn't until the evening so we couldn't attend. I was disappointed because it would've been fun to attend a concert in an ancient amphitheater.

Porta Borsari--the main entrance to Roman Verona. Back then, this functioned as a tollbooth into town.

Medieval nobles showed off their wealth with towers.

While Renaissance nobles showed off with finely painted facades.

Piazza Erbe--another square in Verona, once the old town's forum during the time of the Roman Empire.

During medieval times, this stone canopy held scales where merchants weighed the goods bought and sold.

Piazza de Signori, with it's status of Dante. Dante was exiled from Florence and Verona granted him asylum.

From one arch in Piazza de Signori hangs a whale rib bone. It was likely brought back by a traveling merchant, reminding the people there was a big world out there.

Tombs of the Scaligeri family. They were the most prominent family who ruled in the 13th-14th century. They were to Verona what the Medici were to Florence.

Sant'Anastasia, a Gothic church of the Dominican order. The facade was never finished.

Sant'Anastasia is located near the Adige River, which takes a bend through the city. The Ponte Pietra footbridge spans the river.

Duomo--Verona's Roman Catholic Cathedral. This is also located on the Adige River, not far from the Sant'Anastasia.

2016 09 13

Sarni Lunch

I convinced my husband to travel via Verona to get to our hotel for the night in Treviso. It was a longer drive but a faster drive because we were on the autostrada. Being on the autostrada meant roadside food. I was still in search of the fabulous Italian autostrada food I had heard so much.

We stopped at Sarni.

This was a giant arancini--€2. It was cold so you heated it in the microwave. Meh--this was disappointing.

I ordered the 3 pasta special--€7.95. It included lasagna, cannelloni & gnocchi. It was just okay. The pasta was surprisingly a little mushy.

My husband ordered the "stinco XXL"--€10.95. This was a giant pork leg. It was tender but didn't have much flavor. It came with a small salad and potatoes. The potatoes were the best part of the meal--crispy on the outside, cooked through and with a nice rosemary flavor. I think I set my expectations too high for autostrada food.

2016 09 13