We have loved the gorgeous cathedrals we’ve seen across France, from the simple to the ornate, but France doesn’t have the market cornered on them. We’ve looked at so many stunning cathedrals across Italy during this trip. The one above is in Verona, where we spent several days. See also the one below:

Verona has a uniquely-styled castle and a bridge over the Adige River called Castelvecchio, built by the Scaligeri family in the 14th century. It now houses a great museum.

Another bridge across the river is the Ponte Pietra bridge which has some serious history, dating back to 100 B.C.E.:

Also interesting in Verona we visited after crossing over the Ponte Pietra bridge was the Giardino Giusti, a gorgeous Italian garden:

The opening ceremony for the 2026 Paralympic Games was held near our hotel in Verona, but did not cause too much chaos for us. We didn’t get to go into the Arena di Verona, a Roman amphitheater in the center of town that still hosts events and concerts, but we did finally get closer for a photo:

We decided to be spontaneous with an extra day in Verona so we took a day trip to Venice, a real bucket list place we would only go to during the off-season. Below is St. Mark’s Basilica, and a there is a giant plaza behind us. Unfortunately, we didn’t have entrance tickets to go in, but we did admire the outside and the plaza.

In the summer, Venice is packed with tourists, as are the narrow passageways, some only three feet wide. I can’t imagine how that feels when it’s 95 degrees. Venice has 472 bridges and no cars. If it hadn’t been for Google maps, we may not have ever gotten back to the train station. But we did get to enjoy views like this while we explored:

Overall, we really enjoyed our stay in Verona and the food was amazing. We’ve eaten so much Italian pasta and pizza, drank our fill of Italian wines and wonderful coffee, and eaten gelato almost every day. It’s truly been a fantastic vacation!

Next up, Turin, or if you’re Italian: Torino!