in fair verona...

i left germany behind this morning on a train bound for verona... while i was in and out of sleep throughout the trip, i did end up setting my eyes on some of the brilliant hillsides of austria... the vibrant greens sprawled up and down, along with snow capped mountains in the distance... the train swerved along the hillside, as though part of the environment...

i knew for certain i had crossed over to italy when the meticulous rows of wine crops were a usual site from the window... it was intoxicating, speckled with tiny houses here and there... each song that played on my ipod was the perfect soundtrack to such beauty... finally, i halted in verona -- the home of romeo and juliet... i got off the train and saw from every corner of my eye couples in full embrance... welcome to the city of love...

i took a bus that was supposed to get me close to a hostel i intended on staying in... alas, a few wrong turns and i was most certainly lost... i ended up climbing up a steep bank and while i was in such pain from the experience, i came out to a clearing with the most intense view of verona in its entirety... it was absolutely breathtaking... after a few more twists and turns i found my hostel... and sure enough it was as incredible as described... housed in a 16th century building with vaulted ceilings and luscious gardens out every doorway, it was something to be seen... i spent the rest of the day wandering verona, visiting juliet's house, snapping pics of churches and the rest... finally, exhausted, i retired back to my room to meet my dorm mates -- an elderly woman from scotland named jean and a middle-aged woman from ireland named lucia...

i changed into a dress and took myself out for dinner out of a lack of social companions... i parked it at a little table that was set right alongside the fiume adige (the main waterway that runs through verona)... a glass of red wine, homemade pasta -- delicious...