A Weekend of Adventure
Written by Kelsey V. March 4, 2015
Juliet's Balcony
Verona- the city of love!
Beautiful Verona
The view from up top!
View from the river
Paragliding!
Post "acrobatics"
CIMBAns go paragliding!
Gnoochi for lunch!
This weekend, I decided to stay back at campus and have a more laid-back weekend since next weekend begins our 10-day long travel break- “spring break”. Over spring break, I will see 4 different countries in 10 days. I will visit Budapest (Hungary), Vienna (Austria), Munich (Germany) and Prague (Czech Republic). I’m stoked!
On Friday I relaxed and went out to dinner at the nearby restaurant with others who hung back this weekend. Early Saturday morning we set off for Verona- the city of Romeo and Juliet! We caught a bus to a nearby town, Bassano del Grappa, and took several trains to arrive in Verona around 11 a.m. Of course, we wanted to see Juliet’s House first- Casa di Giulietta! We found the courtyard and went into to the museum and were even able to go out on the balcony. It was amazing! If you’ve ever seen the movie “Letters to Juliet”, then you’re somewhat familiar with Verona.
After Juliet’s house, we did a little peeking in stores. Verona actually had a ton of shopping! We stopped for lunch at a little café that was off that beaten path. These are often my favorite places because they’re more authentic and cheaper. We got gnocchi- my favorite! It was delicious and the woman who ran the café was incredibly kind.
After lunch we went to the river, which had an AMAZING view. We spent awhile just looking at the whole of Verona and enjoying the view- trying to take a mental snapshot! We saw a castle on a hill nearby and decided to hike to the top and check out the view from there!
At the top of the castle we met another American woman. She has lived in Europe for the last 4 years, switching countries every year or two to teach English. I spent about 30 minutes talking with this woman, as it was nice to speak to another American and hear about her experiences living and working abroad since this is something I may want to do in my future.
Verona is definitely the city of love! Everywhere you turned there were couples. It was a very romantic city and incredibly beautiful. I’m really glad that I was able to see it while I’m here in Italy.
Today (Sunday), a group of us went paragliding off Mount Grappa. Mount Grappa is actually quite famous here for paragliding, so I’m incredibly lucky that it’s right in my backyard. I won’t have time to climb the mountain while I’m here, so this was a perfect way to get to the top and still get the experience.
I really can’t describe the feeling of paragliding. It was by far the coolest thing I have ever done. It takes your breath away and leaves you speechless. I was flying over Italy for about half an hour total, and there was a GoPro attached to me the entire time. Once I get the footage, I will post it on here!
My instructor was incredibly kind. We even did some “acrobatics” which were very cool (and scary)! We flew right over the trees on the mountain and my toes nearly touched the branches. It was just an indescribable experience. If you get the chance to do this, you have to! It’s so quiet, peaceful and beautiful up there. I would do it again in a heartbeat.
One thing I love about the CIMBA program is how easy it is to make a weekend out of staying back. There are so many beautiful towns and activities nearby. It’s incredibly easy to take a day trip to another Italian city, paraglide off Mount Grappa or go to the Crespano market on Sunday. Traveling takes a lot out of you, so it’s important to stay rested and pace yourself. CIMBA makes it easy to have a relaxing yet fun weekend back on campus if you choose to do so.
Thanks for keeping up with my journey- until next time!
Blogger: Kelsey V., Purdue University
