A night at the Verona Opera - Arena di Verona

When we went to Italy a few years back, I researched places and events near our main cities to see if anything peaked our interest. I found out that in fair Verona (yes, of Romeo and Juliet!) the Verona Arena is internationally known for it's large-scale opera performances. We found out there were performances while we were over there, so routed our trip to Verona for a few nights!

The arena is something else. We have never been to Rome (one day), so this was our first Roman arena in person. It is so big and is really the center of the town. It was built in 30 AD. Yes, THIRTY. It's located in the Piazza Bra and is surrounded by restaurants and shops. Such a neat city.

If I didn't say it -- this is also our first opera! CARMEN!! We didn't know what to expect, but the doors opened at 7:30 PM, so we finished our daily gelato and headed to the arena. It is made entirely of marble and stone, and we headed through the tunnel (feeling a little like we were about to enter the movie Gladiator!). Our seats were in the "general admission" area which meant they were ON the marble steps. (We'll come back to this fact later in the four hour opera.) The stage was huge -- it stretched from one side of the arena to the other. The show didn't start until 9:00 PM, so we had plenty of time to people watch and watch the sun starting to set behind the arena walls.

We even saw a bride and groom heading to the show! It is the place to be! 

Finally the show is about to begin. The orchestra comes in, and they line the stage with beautiful colored curtains!

The lady in the picture above came out to introduce each act. She would ring her gong. She was fabulous. The production was in French, and we bought a book that had it translated in many different languages. In the first act, the orchestra did a prelude/overture, then they rolled back the curtains for Act II. The sheer number of people involved in the production was mind boggling. They were hundreds on stage at a time -- the choreography had to be timed perfectly!

 

OK...so, neither of us realized how LONG this opera was. As a reminder, we are seating on concrete. Roman concrete. Each act was about one hour long, and there were FOUR acts. Also as a reminder, it started at 9:00. We were in it for the long haul. :-)  With that said -- the music was simply beautiful and breath-taking. We were surprised at how many songs we recognized. 

 ACT 3

A little stand-up stretch between the final acts!

ACT 4

 

BRAVO - BRAVO!

As we were leaving the arena, many people were headed to the cafes in the piazza for dinner and drinks (it's after 1:00 AM, now mind you!). We had to catch a train the next morning, so said good-bye to the square and all it's nighttime magic. It truly was an amazing once-in-a-lifetime experience. The venue, the atmosphere, the music...a night of memories. Next time, we might just opt for a cushion to sit on.  ;-) 

 

XO,

Alcatraz at NIGHT - eerie, chilling, perfect!

When we went to San Francisco a couple of years ago, we knew Alcatraz was on our list. We did some research before we went and realized the best ticket to score was to tour the island at NIGHT! It's a special park program limited to a few hundred visitors a day, so you need to buy your tickets WAY in advance. The evening tour also offers special programs, tours and activities not offered in the day, and even allows special access to certain areas normally closed during the day. This is a MUST DO.

We headed over to the island in full light. The views were incredible. I am so fascinated by this island and the stories. This tour also circles the island and gives you narrated history about various things, including those that tried to escape!

WELCOME TO THE ROCK

When we docked, we were greeted by one of the park rangers. If you didn't know Alcatraz is now protected by the National Park Services and is a National Historic Place. The ranger led us up the hill to the cell-house, and we stopped along the way to learn about the history and family life on the island. For workers at the prison, their families LIVED on the island. Can you imagine?!? 

We all received a headset for our audio tour and headed inside. First stop was the laundry room...

 

...then headed into the cell block. One super cool thing about our audio tour is that there were actual interviews from former prisoners there. It made it way too real!

After our audio tour of the cell block, we headed over to the "mess hall". It is connected to the main cell block by a corridor referred to as "Times Square".

They still have the menu up from the last breakfast served to the prisoners!

After leaving the dining hall, there was still some light in the sky. We were able to walk all around the island. One thing we were NOT prepared for us the beauty of the island. Talk about the right climate. There were so many flowers and birds. It was beautiful.

 

The sun is starting to set in the west, and we continue to walk around the island. When they say you are the only visitors on the island during the night tour, they mean it! It was incredibly eerie and spooky. You would be the only person is sight walking down this trail. We wondered if anyone got accidentally left on the island during these tours! 

Here is the Golden Gate in the background....(it's SUPER windy)

 And a shot of the city.....

As the sun finally set, one of the special programs we chose to see was the opening and closing of the cell doors. This was one of the creepiest sounds EVER. They are set to all open and close at the same time. The sounds when the doors closed reverberated through the prison! It was SO loud! 

 

We can't recommend this tour enough. If you are going to Alcatraz - definitely opt for the night tour. You arrive and have plenty of light for the first part of your visit, then basically get the island to yourself in the dark for the rest. When you leave -- the workers even get on your ferry. It's closing time!

And we'll leave you with some words from one of the most famous residents of the Rock....

XO,

A day in Tuscany

When we went to Italy we knew we had to go on a wine tour. One of our favorite movies is Under the Tuscan Sun, and we just knew we were going to recreate it, buy a villa, and live happily ever after in Tuscany.  :-)  OK....maybe not, but it was still a must-do. I never knew Tuscany was a region in Italy. I always thought it was a city of its own, but it is actually 9000 square miles of history, landscapes, and the best smelling earth I've ever smelled.  The capital of the Tuscany region is Florence and that was our home base for our trip.

We chose to go on the Chianti Classico Wine tour with Florencetown Tours. With most tours, especially wine tours, it's always nice to have someone else do the driving! We met at the tour office, and we hopped onto a mini-bus with ten of our new friends for our day in the countryside. The scenery was breath-taking -- rolling hills, villas, Italian cypress tress, rows of grapes and olive trees. Our first stop was the Principe Corsini winery.

We toured the cellar and our guide took us "on the land" to see the grapes. Another fact I didn't know, is that what makes the different types of wines is the length of time the grapes age. The longer and more complex the process, the higher quality of wine.

 

 

We ended this visit with an appetizer of cheese, bread, honey, and three different tastes of their wonderful wine. 

 

Heading on to our next stop, we drove through the beautiful countryside. We drove about 25 minutes to the town of Montespertoli. It's a very small town surrounded by vineyards, olive groves, old villas, and castles! 

 

At our next stop, our guide wanted to show us a "quick thing" and he took us to this building and up the stairs to this loft that was used for various things for producing wine. (Not sure we were supposed to be up there or not!). He opened a side door that led to a porch where the views were incredible! On one side you had the rolling hills and vineyards; and on the other, a view of the little town -- the picture you have in mind when you envision Italy.

Our last top was at Castello Sonnino. It's a historic wine estate that overlooks the Chianti Hills. They are one of the leading producers of Chianti Montespertoli D.O.C.G. and the highest quality of olive oil. Lucky for us -- this stop was for another tasting and a light meal! We went down to the dining area, the table was set and the doors were open and the breeze and smells and view was perfection.This picture below is looking into where we dined and had a marvelous time!

 We started with bruschetta and meats, and cheeses, and peppers & onions and a few types of wine.

After the antipasti, we had a pasta course -- simple penne with tomatoes. So FRESH.

 

Full and happy we left our Italian countryside and headed back into Florence. It was a wonderful day and a great way to experience the wine country and taste and sip some of the finest wines in the world. Definitely check out Florencetown tours to experience the best of the Tuscany region!

Ciao and Arrivederci till next time!