Given that we were staying in an apartment rather than a B&B we had to set out in the morning to get some breakfast. Our location meant that everything around us was very expensive for what it was, so instead we headed for a supermarket. On the way we stopped in at the most fake attraction outside Disneyland – Juliet’s Balcony and statue. Still, we too the obligatory photos, then continued on our way in our quest for breakfast.
Back at the apartment we basically people watched from our balcony for a bit, before having a snooze in the heat of the day and in preparation for our late night.
After our sleep we went out for another wander. We climbed the tower which had a great view, but was priced steeply for what it was.
The heat was getting to everyone – there was an official warning out that temperatures were going to be 38C. We got a quick pizza, then went up and got changed, and headed down the marble streets to Arena de Verona. We arrived about 8pm for the 9pm performance of Aida. Already Piazza Bra was crowded with patrons, and lines were building. We went to a shorter line we’d been told we could use earlier, but they said we couldn’t go through because the metal detector was broken. We I told them we’d been told to go through there they relented, so we went through the theatre of going through a non functioning metal detector.
Inside we hired the cushions that I’d read were kind of necessary, and made our way into the arena. Already it was half full, and the stage was spectacular. However the heat was in full force. Every 5 minutes someone would collapse, and cries would go up for the paramedics. One way of thinning the crowd I guess.
Finally the performance started. It went for 3 and a half hours, and although a bit slow in places was possible to follow with subtitles in Italian and English, and mostly was very good. Sound wasn’t really a problem either. The only thing that really marred it was the heat. We found the cushions, while good for softening the hard stone seats, were actually more important for insulating your butt from the scorching temperatures of the stone which must have been t least 40C.
With the performance over we walked back up the marble streets to Piazza Erbe and some air-conditioned rest.
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