Have you ever noticed that some places are, “just right”, from the start?

The pavements and gutters are clean with no fag ends or chewing gum; the front gates are freshly painted, the gardens & windows have all go flower boxes with geraniums in bloom; a van goes around to collect & deliver the laundry and police cars cruise into the station for breakfast.

The orchards and vineyards are clean & tidy; the white lines on the road fresh and bright; the economy ticks along perfectly like a model train set, as they all charge each other and pay each other courteously. It’s like this all around Lake Garda.

History tells us that the Romans liked it too and they put Verona in as a tax toll booth on the main roads from the North over the mountains and from the East and the West and South. Many people came – Goths and emos, from Florence and Venice and Rome came Viscontis and Medicis and Scaglias; Napoleon looked in and finally the Austrians, Otto & Friedrich.

They all found the red marbles very attractive and took pebbles for building from the Adije river along with bricks from the Incas & Mayas in Valpolicella and slices of yellow sandstone which made excellent work surfaces. Then they were born again and started opera with Aida in 1913 when Verdi came on the scene, who has been eclipsed by Placido Domingo who is playing in Rigoletto v. Nabucco in July.

I gave some instructions to the centurions who were guarding the forum, which call the amphitheatre. We are getting along quite well in conversation since we had good German teachers at school.

We rode the town-tour-train which is exceedingly bumpy and there is a Vatican and a lot of international heritage walls. Day trippers from every corner of the world. We saw Juliet in the window but it was too cold for her to come out.

Lunch was nice in a narrow side street and we shared 2 pizzas among 3. There an oompah band in red cottons and lederhoes in the square. Then everybody got drunk and very noisy. The schnakerhausen have ganz geschnitten.