Venice

Bridge of Sighs

Piazza San Marco in Venice, with St. Mark's Campanile.

Piazza San Marco

Grand Canal (Venice)

Venice was magical, despite the crowds. Would love to go back when it's quiet.

Verona

The Juliet balcony wasn't even added until the 20th-century!

Piazza delle Erbe, Verona

Piazza delle Erbe, Verona

Verona Arena

Piazza Bra with Verona Arena and Palazzo Barbieri (Verona's Town Hall)
Not sure if they were installing a piece of art or a new large drain!

 

Mobile phones arrived early in Verona, like about the Roman Era!

Verona was interesting and unintentionally amusing for all the wrong reasons. The things that stand out in my memory, apart from the crowds (as everywhere), were the especially bad basement - down dodgy steps - unisex toilets; the market in the Piazza delle Erbe that was selling almost entirely tourist tat with Chinese stall holders; discovering that "that balcony" is actually inside a tiny, tiny courtyard into which hoards of tourists as squashed tightly (never mind that it's the totally not real imaginings of a fictional story to begin with), and then at the Arena there was the Roman in the wrong type of costume that quality-wise looked like he'd got it off ebay, nattering away on his "out of character" mobile phone! That did make us laugh, but it also made me think that, to allow it, the authorities in Verona are really being disrespectful to visitors if they think we're stupid enough to be taken in by it, which kinda spoilt the impression I took away of the city.

Sirmione

The Castle in Sirimione

Place to find very cheeky birds

When we went, Sirmione was uncomfortably busy. Still fascinating, but hard to see for the crowds in a flying visit [birds, geddit?] that couldn't do it justice. 

Riva del Garda

Riva del Garda - 3 November Square

Riva del Garda

Spot the building way up on the mountainside.

Here it's a bit closer. Obviously a church or monastery.

We only stopped for a very short time in Riva del Garda on a tour around the lake, but it very much looked like a town that deserves further investigation. The views are breath-taking of the lake and of the surrounding mountains.

RIVA DEL GARDA - LAKE GARDA

Lake Garda

We stayed at the Hotel Drago, located on the lake shore in Assenza Di Brenzone, Brenzone sul Garda - with the promised panoramic views across Lake Garda. The food - and wine - at the hotel were particularly superb.