We headed to the shopping streets of Via Mazzini, where the expensive brand-name stores are located, and the Corso Porta Borsari, where the more regular shops are lined up. We didn’t really buy anything. We just checked out what was available and passed by the costumed street performers around the corner. One thing I noticed was the shiny, coppery-rose marble on the pavements of the most expensive streets. Our guide said this is called Rosso di Verona , a locally-quarried mar

Our first stop in Italy was Verona, made famous by Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet . But apart from being the setting of a most-tragic love story, Verona was a Roman city with many ruins that have been preserved, most notably, The Arena, an enormous amphitheater that is almost like a smaller version of The Colosseum in Rome. Our guided tour took us around the centre of the city, which used to be an old Roman military settlement. We walked around the maze of elegant squares wit