Just discovered this one in my drafts. We visited here pre blogging days (2016) so forgive the brevity, lack of specifics and basic writing!

A part of Italy I had yet to discover and I’m gutted I waited so long.

This was a trip that was very special, because it was with my other half and my beautiful parents. They are also lovers of Italy, and that’s one of the reasons I have a passion for the country.

They used to take my brother and I all over Italy, Sardinia, Milan, Portofino, Amalfi and the Tuscan Coast to name but a few. Then we visited again as an extended family when I had my first child. That was memorable, not only because it was all new to me with a young baby, but also because my beautiful daughter, with a temperament like me (think Italian, feisty and vocal) kept biting my lovely Mummy!!! It’s a good job she loved her unconditionally, otherwise we may have been sent to our room on a number of occasions, never to see the light of day!

Verona is a beautiful city, it’s one of the lesser visited in Italy, falling way behind Rome, Florence and Venice but it really should be right up there. It doesn’t have as much to offer as those 3, but that’s one reason why it should be top of the list. It’s less crowded which makes it more beautiful and much easier to walk around.

There’s a medieval old town, and everything is within walking distance if you chose a central hotel. An abundance of bars, restaurants and shops, both independents and others more familiar. Every street you wander down offers something different. A gelateria on each corner, two main piazzas to hang out in during the day and night to watch the world go by.

When we all arranged to meet, day or night, it wouldn’t be in the hotel lobby, because usually my parents had set off first. Their favourite pastime is always to plant themselves right in the middle of the buzz, to sit, take it all in and watch the beautiful people go by. They could sit there for hours and they did! BB and I would wander round and come back to base to check they were still there, still happy or whether they were ready to move on.

We found some lovely places to eat and drink. We were responsible for getting my parents a little tipsy on a few occasions, Baileys became my Mum’s new best friend as she couldn’t quite wait until after dinner to have them, but ordered them as we ordered our pre dinner and during dinner drinks!

It’s a very reasonable city to eat and drink in. For foodies there’s plenty to choose from and there are also plenty of causal pizza/pasta places too.

For culture there’s the Juliet balcony (as in Romeo and Juliet) the Roman amphitheatre where the opera is held, as well as the Castelvecchio with museum inside. I’m sure there’s much more but from memory those are the ones that stick in my mind. But go and visit if for yourself, 3 days would be enough there.

Lake Garda is a short drive away so we were able to do a few road trips, with not such a long car journey. We spent a day in Sermione and visited Desenzano a few times, both absolutely stunning places.

We took a boat trip in each one to get a different perspective of the towns, one very small, with narrow pathways winding up and down, leading into a piazza, (Sermione), the other with a long wide promenade and restaurants and shops everywhere, overlooking the port or the streets behind. Both equally stunning.

We stayed at Palazzo Victoria which was perfectly situated, slap bang in the centre of everywhere. Traditional Italian decor, with a lovely bar area and courtyard. The only thing it lacked was a swimming pool, hotels with pools were few and far between in central Verona. (It is now part of the NH hotels group.)

We did discover a rooftop bar with a jacuzzi if we got really hot which was at the Hotel Milano, a small boutique hotel which could be another interesting place to stay, especially as their idea of bar snacks were delicious macaroons!!

And then we found a spectacular hotel, click here to read about that one to spend another day at, because the weather turned really hot and we wanted a day to ourselves and to give my young lovebird parents at day to themselves as well! No review on this one as the photos speak for themselves. Byblos Villa Amista