Flavors of Northern Italy: Day 2

Sunday 10/3: Verona Exploration + Borgo San Donino

I was up early due to the time difference and had a sunrise yoga practice on our private terrace. We then enjoyed the hotel breakfast offerings that included a full tray of baked goods brought to our table plus a number of items we could choose off the menu. I’m guessing the meal used to be served buffet style in the before times, but now the staff takes your order and brings everything to you, making it the “breakfast of many plates” – one for the hot food, separate bowl of fruit salad, a small plate of seasonal fruits, and another small plate with three thick slices of brie. Quite plentiful and very tasty! With fresh coffee and orange juice as well. Our seats looked out at the hidden courtyard in the hotel, with a glimpse of the arena above.

We had worked with the hotel staff yesterday to arrange a transfer to our tour lodging for 3pm this afternoon, so we verified a 1pm check-out time and then set off to explore Verona. The weather was amazing! Sunny, in the 70s, with blue sky and big puffy clouds. A perfect day for walking around the historic city, beginning with a stroll to the east to reach the Adige River and cross the Ponte Pietra on our way to the Funicolare that leads up to the Castel San Pietro. Once we reached the top, we had amazing panoramic views of the river, the city, and the surrounding area.

The descent from Castel San Pietro brought us back to the Ponte Pietra, but instead of crossing back to the city center, we strolled along the opposite bank to enjoy the different perspective, taking a short detour through a park as we sought some shade, and returned to the historic area via the Ponte Garibaldi. 

We were thinking to climb the Torre de Lamberti but didn’t find the right entry spot on the first try. Instead, we ended up in the middle of wedding party photos when we emerged from the museum ticket office to descend the stairs into the courtyard. Oops. That’s the risk of using a public place for your special day, I guess! 

Given the time, we started back towards our hotel, browsing through the market areas set up in Piazza del Erbe, taking note as we walked of possible restaurants for lunch after we checked out of the hotel. We packed up our bags, left them with the front desk, and browsed a few shops as we retraced our steps and selected the Pizzeria Du De Cope for our al fresco meal. I had the Insalata Della Casa, with mixed greens, tuna, olives, artichoke hearts, capers, mushrooms, tomatoes, and mozzarella cheese, and Mr. E chose the Capricciola pizza, which was basically my salad put on top of a pizza crust! He also couldn’t resist the meatballs when he saw the family next to us enjoying them. The food was fresh and delicious, and the service was friendly and quick. 

After lunch, we had enough time to walk back towards the arena to cross the Piazza Bra on our way to the Museo Castelvecchio, doing some advance scouting for possible activities during our return visit to Verona with the group later in the week. Then back to the hotel to meet up with our driver and make the transfer to Borgo San Donino, our home for the next week. 

Upon arrival, we were met by Laura from the property, who gave us our key and showed us our room. Then we met Stefania, our tour director, who provided an updated summary of the week and took care of our COVID paperwork. After all of the administrative details were complete, we were able to settle into our new temporary home, unpack, and make the place our own (e.g. moving a table lamp from the bedroom to the sitting room, setting a chair by the couch to serve as a staging area for bags and the key). 

Part of the hospitality included a lovely fresh fruits tray and three bottles of wine. We could choose any one bottle as complimentary and then pay for the others if we wanted to open them. Also, since the staff for some reason were expecting us earlier in the day, they had made a light and fresh rice salad, which was in two bowls in our fridge. Such a shame to let that go to waste, but we weren't hungry at all (not to mention that the salad included ham, which made if off limits for me anyway).

We met up with the rest of the group at 6:30pm in the breakfast room for the official tour orientation, where we learned more about Stefania, the history of this tour offering, the COVID regulations, and the planned activities. 

Our neighbors for the week are L and J from Atlanta/Florida, who spend 6 months of the year living in a large coach and traveling around the country after previously spending 10 years living on a boat and navigating on waterways; MB and A from Virginia, a daughter and 83-year old mother duo who have visited 53 countries together; and S and B, a sister duo who live in Virginia and Walpole, MA respectively. L & J and MB & A had participated in the Cinque Terre pre-tour offering so already were well acquainted, and the rest of us started to get to know each other during our first group dinner at Cascina Capuzza, the restaurant on the property. 

The meal was definitely an appropriate preview of what would come the rest of the week – plentiful wine, multiple courses, and lovely alternatives for me to accommodate my allium-free pescatarian diet. And always starting off with bread of some kind, including the yummy cubes of warm homemade foccacia. Luckily, we get to walk through the vineyards to and from the restaurant, so we got a little bit of exercise before and after the delicious dinner. And we were definitely ready for bed after all of that!