Runners begin the journey at the base of the path.

Enroute to the top.

Enroute to the top.

Looking west over the Adige.

Looking south over the Adige and city centre.

Looking south-east over Verona.

The summit along Piazzale Castel San Pietro.

There’s 2 things that I remember Verona for; the truly horrendous tourist trap that is the tribute to Juliet (as in Romeo and Juliet, more on this in a future post) and Tom’s inspired tour guiding. All of what I enjoyed about Italy was here: the old city centre, narrow pedestrian streets, sunny afternoon haze, an Intimissimi on every block.

The day’s sojourn peaked – literally – at the Castel San Pietro; a medieval hill top fortress that overlooks the city and the Adige. After some initial confusion to find the path up the hill, a winter’s hike up the staircase gave just reward.

It was largely impossible to see the extent of the city given the thick haze that hung in the air. Verona’s footprint is large enough for it’s 250,000 population, but this was a sleepy winter’s day and peaceful perch to watch Italian time go by.

Artwork still exists from the days following the earthquake.

While debate rages on the whether the changes to the Christchurch CBD roading plan are a good thing or a bad thing, all I know is that my daily commute through the CBD is a voyage of discovery. A voyage of road cones, ever changing road closures, and construction zones with a whole lot of nothing happening on them. If the end result is an improvement to the crazy system of one-way roads through the city, I can grin and bear it, but it sure is taking a l-o-n-g time.