bilboburgler

I suspect Verona was taken by the Romans before Christ was born so "first centuary! is a tad out

sandralist

Berkshiregirl:

You can very easily pick up a car rental in Trento. I rented through AutoEurope and picked up the car on via Torre Vanga, which is a 10 minute flat walk from the train station or the center of Trento. I rented a manual transmission, and think I did it about 3 weeks in advance. I was traveling in August. If you need an automatic then you should call AutoEurope directly and ask for their advice. They are not always available outside of airports. I would probably look to rent an automatic at the Verona airport, which is not far from the center of Verona and you can take a shuttle bus or taxi there. It is an easy drive from the airport to points north.

bvlenci

Verona became a Roman municipium in the 1st century BC. I don't know the exact date, but it would have been closer to the end of the century than the beginning. There was a previous town there from prehistoric times, and ties with the Roman Republic. I think it was also a Roman colony, where retired soldiers were settled, which would have been at least 100 years before it became a Roman municipium.

MonicaRichards

@latedaytraveler, you do realize that Juliet's balcony was added to that medieval house in the 1930's after the city bought it to turn it into a tourist attraction, right? The house is actually from the time of Shakespeare but the balcony most definitely was not.

@Berkshiregirl, about the Opera, maybe the trip report ommitted that my 11 year old played on my husband's phone the entire third act...which was really slow so who can blame her? (there was nobody around at that point to get annoyed, many had already left). And you made Genevieve smile on a tough morning that you liked her photo!

ekc

Although it will not fit in this trip, another suggestion would be to spend time in/near Cormons. We spent 3 days there a few years ago and had a wonderful time! The scenery is gorgeous, there are very few tourists and there are well-marked biking and walking trails in the surrounding countryside.

Berkshiregrl

LateDay: I'm not avoiding ALL lakes, just the busier ones. Sandra pointed me to smaller lakes in the Dolomiti region that seem equally scenic and also require less travel.It's similar to what we do here in the US when traveling. It's just that here we know what are the very busy touristy places so we know to avoid Yosemite Valley and go to the high country, visit the North rather than the South Rim and that sort of thing. It's generally quite easy to find scenery equal to the more well known and popular spots with a little info and planning.

Sandra: good to know it's easy to rent a car. I suspect we'll just rent a manual as they are more available and I quite like them although hardly ever drive one these days. We'll need to teach the boys if we want them to do any driving, which is doubtful although by then they'll have a year under their belt.

Monica: Still impressive that an 11 yr old sat through the entire opera, phone or no phone! But your girls seem like very cooperative and seasoned travelers.

ekc: thx for the Cormons mention. I honestly hadn't even heard of it-which I consider a good thing.

Also, an odd question...Are there basketball courts in Italy, like in parks or at schools or is that pretty unheard of? I tried googling but got mostly hits for Rome and couldn't get a sense of whether they are routinely available. My boys like to play frequently and wherever we go I find them courts to play on which also gives husband & I a chance to do something on our own. But I told them I have no clue about Italy although they feel basketball is popular there.

mama_mia

Here's a link to a site called basketball courts of the world, where you can search in specific cities and areas for courts in playgrounds, parks and gyms.

http://www.courtsoftheworld.com/

Re car rental: Think you need to be 18 to drive rental in Italy.

latedaytraveler

Hi MONICARICHARDS,

"... you do realize that Juliet's balcony was added to that medieval house in the 1930's after the city bought it to turn it into a tourist attraction, right?" No, I did not know that when I visited the site some years ago. In fact, Shakespeare never traveled to Italy but somehow, I do not think he would object to this ploy. Verona is a lovely city.

BERKSHIREGRL, "I'm not avoiding ALL lakes, just the busier ones." Good, hope you and your family have a great time.

MonicaRichards

latedaytraveler, oh, I agree I do so love Verona. And that house they call Juliet's was owned by the right family at least. Did you know you can also visit Juliet's tomb? Now to me that might be taking it a bit far...a tomb of a fictional character!

bilboburgler

You all know that the story is fiction right???? So the building is in a book not in the city.

vincenzo32951

I suppose the next thing you're going to try to tell me is that Russell Crowe never fought in the. Colosseum.