![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/281\/2019\/01\/275-2-300x450.jpeg\")
<\/p>\nAs I prepare for the start of my second semester at the Universit\u00e0 di Verona, I thought I’d talk a bit more about the city itself.<\/p>\n
It is best known for being the home of Shakespeare\u2019s star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet. Although history states that this couple were 100% fictional, and that Shakespeare himself had never actually even been to Verona, Juliet\u2019s house is one of the most famous and most visited sites in the city. The streets are buzzing all year round with tourists who flock to visit Juliet in her courtyard; to take a photo under her famous balcony upon which she promised her love to Romeo, or to touch her breast for luck in love – a tradition so popular that the statue has been worn down on the right side! <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The walls of her courtyard are covered in messages of love from couples who have travelled to sign their names in hearts, or those who seek Juliet\u2019s guidance in love. The notes tell stories of the visitors\u2019 pasts, their problems and their hopes for the future. Of course, during my first week here I partook in all these activities as I initiated myself into the city. <\/p>\n
Another Veronese initiation (in my eyes anyway) is the obsessive drinking of Aperol Spritz. Yes, they sell them in the UK, but no, they don\u2019t taste as good as they do when you are sat in Piazza Bra, Aperol in hand with the famous Verona Arena amphitheatre in the background.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/281\/2019\/01\/43217188_10213093165709701_1902738376906244096_n-450x450.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
A great Italian tradition that I think needs to migrate to the UK is that virtually wherever you go for drinks in the evening, they will give you snacks with your drink. For free<\/strong>. In the UK free food is a myth, but here it\u2019s a shock if you don\u2019t receive your little platter of crisps, olives and bread with your spritz. <\/p>\n A Veronese tradition that I cannot get onboard with, however, is the local delicacy of horse meat. In the UK it was a scandal when Tesco\u2019s beef mince was actually horse meat, but here they wouldn\u2019t have batted an eyelid. On an unrelated note, I\u2019m now trying vegetarianism.<\/p>\n I have a friend here who is vegan, and many who are vegetarian. To my surprise, Italy caters so well for this! People stereotype Italians by food: course after course of pasta, pizza and meat platters. However, everywhere offers veggie and vegan options that are just as delicious. <\/p>\n The centre is full of fancy designer shops which is all good and nice, but somehow I don\u2019t think my student loan is going to cover Gucci’s latest collection\u2026 Luckily for students there is a huge shopping centre a 30-minute bus ride out of the city, where more reasonably priced shops exist. <\/p>\n In central Verona there are many supermarkets \u2013 including Aldi \u2013 with reasonably priced food, as well as local fruit and vegetable markets that sell high quality products for a good price. I always try to get my fruit and veg from the local sellers to try and help the community. <\/p>\n Basically what I’m trying to say is – bar the horse meat thing – Verona is great and I can’t wait to start the second leg of my year abroad.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As I prepare for the start of my second semester at the Universit\u00e0 di Verona, I thought I'd talk a bit more about the city itself. It is best known […]","protected":false},"author":1632,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[268],"tags":[42,249,99,44,57,370,197],"class_list":["post-3544","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-europe","tag-erasmus","tag-europe","tag-food","tag-food-and-drink","tag-local-cuisine","tag-verona","tag-year-abroad"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4QQbz-Va","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3520,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/a-helping-hand\/","url_meta":{"origin":3544,"position":0},"title":"A helping hand…","author":"Phoebe Grinter","date":"December 5, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Before I chose to study at the wonderful Universit\u00e0 degli studi di Verona in Italy, I went through the arduous process of the deciding what to do for my year abroad. When you first start the process of deciding what to do and where to go it is a very\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "European Placements"","block_context":{"text":"European Placements","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/category\/europe\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3527,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/the-hostess-with-the-mostess\/","url_meta":{"origin":3544,"position":1},"title":"The hostess with the mostess","author":"Phoebe Grinter","date":"January 13, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"I love being hostess. Having people come and visit me here in Verona has excited me since before I came out! The first visitors I hosted were my mum and sister when I had been in Verona just over a month and was, in all honesty, still finding my feet\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "European Placements"","block_context":{"text":"European Placements","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/category\/europe\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/281\/2018\/12\/43199605_10213093163069635_1599329517610991616_o-2-450x338.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3539,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/its-all-fun-and-games\/","url_meta":{"origin":3544,"position":2},"title":"It’s all fun and games","author":"Phoebe Grinter","date":"December 19, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"At Verona university the Erasmus society is highly regarded, and rightly so. 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After all the comforts of home, the excitement of Christmas and all my friends being home for a few weeks, I have to say settling back in to life in Verona\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "European Placements"","block_context":{"text":"European Placements","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/category\/europe\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3315,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/la-cultura-salamantina-y-castellana-y-las-caracteristicas-de-espana\/","url_meta":{"origin":3544,"position":4},"title":"LingoMaps: La cultura salamantina y castellana y las caracter\u00edsticas de Espa\u00f1a","author":"Lewis Hacker","date":"May 10, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a1Hola! \u00bfQu\u00e9 pasa? The topic of this month\u2019s blog is \u2018Local and Regional Culture and the Characteristics of your Country\u2019. Salamanca has had a large impact on the creation of modern Spanish culture and identity. It is located in Spain\u2019s largest autonomous community, Castilla y Le\u00f3n, where modern day espa\u00f1ol,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "European Placements"","block_context":{"text":"European Placements","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/category\/europe\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/281\/2018\/05\/Salamanca-internet.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3522,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/studying\/","url_meta":{"origin":3544,"position":5},"title":"StuDYING!","author":"Phoebe Grinter","date":"December 6, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Before I start this post I just want to make it clear that my aim is not to put you off doing a year abroad at all, but I feel I need to be brutally honest about my experience here so far. 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