Around the World : Vineyard and Verona

    So now that I am all caught up on my life in Bologna I can now talk about my trip from last weekend in Verona! Two of my friends ( Alex and Ari) and I took a train to Verona immediately after our final exam on Friday. The train was packed, and we managed to find two seats in the entire train. Since my friend Ari was not feeling well, and I didn't mind standing, I stood the whole train ride and let my friends sit down and relax. The train ride was a little less than an hour and a half away, and I could tell we were in Verona as soon as we arrived. The scenery was beautiful. We exited the train and found the correct bus (103) to take us to a town called San Pietro in Cariano, a thirty minute car ride away from the city of Verona. When we arrived we were greeted by Antonio, the owner's (Stefano) son of a vineyard called Azienda Agricola Brigaldara. He drove my friends and I to Valpolicella hotel to check in and then drove Alex and I to the vineyard for a tour. My friend Ari was still feeling under the weather so she stayed in the hotel to rest.
    When we arrived at the vineyard it was breathtaking!!! It was a beautiful day outside, with barely any clouds in the sky, and it was the perfect time of year to visit the vineyard. I would like to thank my Uncle Steven for setting up this magnificent wine tour. I learned so much about the process of making wine and it was such an amazing opportunity visiting a vineyard in Italy. Not only was the vineyard beautiful but the wine was fantastic. Also, I would like to thank Stefano for letting us visit and Antonio for a superb and informative tour. I loved that the tour was mostly in Italian and that there was a red clay tennis court in the middle of the property along with a cute golden retriever named Luna. I highly recommend visiting Azienda Agricola Brigaldara vineyard and I also recommend buying their wine. All the information about their vineyard and the wine they sell can be found here . My personal favorite was the Amarone Classico and the Recioto Classico (dessert wine) but I also really enjoyed the Valpolicella Classico as an everyday glass of wine. This wine went down like water. There was not one wine I tasted that I didn't like except for the Amarone della Valpolicella 1993, because the bottle was opened for more than three days. But I wanted to try the wine because it was made the year I was born. Overall, I am so fortunate to have a wine tour in Italy and learn about the process of making wine. Thanks again Uncle Steven!
    After the wine tour Antonio kindly drove us back to the hotel. He also gave us two complementary bottles of wine for Ari to try when she gets better and for all of us to drink. We regrouped back in the hotel and went out to dinner at a pizzeria restaurant next to the hotel. I had a delicious thin crust pizza with fresh arugula, corn, tuna and tomatoes. Then we went for a walk near the hotel. We realized we were in the middle of nowhere in Italy, out in farm country, and we were enjoying our time outside of a city. It was a busy day of traveling and taking an exam so we all hit the pillow and crashed to get ready for our day in Verona.
    We woke up bright and early, and I took a shower in the hotel. I really do miss my parent's amazing shower and bathroom at home. But at least the hotel shower did not leak and the water pressure was perfect. We went downstairs for complimentary breakfast. There was fresh fruit, cereal, pastries, bread, yogurt, caffe, prunes, and nuts. The breakfast hit the spot. I even took some apples to go as a snack. Then we ran out the door to catch the early bus to the center of Verona. We only had one full day in the city and we were going to make the best of it. We walked everywhere, with our backpacks of course, and I also carried the two bottles of wine. I must had walked over five miles in Verona plus another two miles to get home from the train station in Bologna. Let me tell you I was exhausted. During the twelve hours in Verona I saw the Amphitheater (Verona Arena), the teatro Romana (Roman theater) , la casa di Juliette (Juliet's house), the Duomo of Verona (beautiful church), la sinagoga di Verona (Verona's synagogue), Piazza della Bra, Piazza dell Erbe and Ponte Pietra. I went into la casa di Juliette and took my picture on the balcony. I also saw many people writing their names on the wall. locking a lock to a post and touching Juliet's boob on a statue. I had no idea why people were touching her boob until my mom asked me via text while I was on my way home to Bologna if I touched Juliet's boob? I said no but I saw so many people doing this and I was confused why. She told me people do this to bring luck to find true love. Well there you have it! If you ever go back to Verona don't forget to touch Juliet's boob to bring good luck to find your true love! I guess I have to visit Verona again. Overall, it was a fun filled day of being a tourist in Verona.
               Let's not forget that I also ate amazing food! I had my snack for lunch along with gelato. We went to this gelateria called Ponte Pietra. Their flavors are all organic and natural and delicious. I had yogurt figi (fig) and yogurt frutti di bosco (fruit of berries) and I was in heaven. For dinner we went to this Osteria called Osteria al Duca and I had pasta fagioli (a Verona soup dish) with noodles and beans and Alex and Ari also had traditional Verona pasta dishes. One of the pasta dishes had mushrooms and gorgonzola cheese and the other had anchovies, tomato sauce and pine nuts. The meal was delicious. After our long day of traveling, we walked to the train station with plenty of time to spare and relaxed on the train ride back to Bologna (there were plenty of seats this time). I really enjoyed my short time in Verona and I can't wait to visit again and touch Juliet's boob. For now I guess I can find true love without it.
    This weekend I am off to Firenze (Florence) with six of my friends to celebrate my friend Ari's birthday and see my first opera in Italian. I have no idea what touristy things we are doing because I didn't plan the trip but you will here all about it when I return. Other places I am thinking about going to are: Amsterdam, Edinburgh (Edinboro), Parma, Torino, Firenze, Roma, Ravenna, Siena, and Pisa! Let me know if you have other suggestions! I miss everyone and I hope to hear from all of you soon.
Con tanto amore,
Samantha