Verona, Italy

 Two households, both alike in dignity,
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.
From forth the fatal loins of these two foes
A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life;
Whole misadventured piteous overthrows
Do with their death bury their parents' strife.
The fearful passage of their death-mark'd love,
And the continuance of their parents' rage,
Which, but their children's end, nought could remove,
Is now the two hours' traffic of our stage;
The which if you with patient ears attend,
What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend.

Yes, it is the prologue to Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare.  The setting is Verona, Italy.  Mention Verona and my girls will both start reciting this prologue to you at fast forward speed.  Why?  It is hard to say.

 You can visit the fake houses of Romeo and Juliet.  We walked by Juliet's house and it was mobbed.

 It was about two billion degrees in Verona.  We visited the amphitheater.  They were getting ready to show a production of, you guessed it, Romeo and Juliet.  You can see the Montague and Capulet flags.

 View looking out of the arena.

 Part of the old city wall

 This castle was turned into a museum.  I thought they did a great job adding modern architecture to make the castle a showcase for art.  However, it was not air conditioned and I started feeling faint after our first few rooms of religious paintings.

 

 Look at this lovely turquoise sculpture I found in the garden!

 Gaze upon this unusual masterpiece.

 We stayed on the outskirts of Verona in a hotel that we think used to be a nursing home.  We spent some time at the grocery store's playground.  Unfortunately, they were deflating the bouncy castle as we arrived.  When the store is open, you can dump your kid at the park and there is someone there to watch them while you shop.  Or at least, I think that is what the sign said in Italian. 

 The next day, we drove through many tunnels and towards France.  We stopped at a couple of weird truck stops looking for lunch and finally ate some pizza right before driving through Mont Blanc.

The Mont Blanc Tunnel is one of the major trans-Alpine transport routes, particularly for Italy, which relies on the tunnel for transporting as much as one-third of its freight to northern Europe. It reduces the route from France to Turin by 50 kilometres (31 mi) and to Milan by 100 kilometres (62 mi).

Begun in 1957 and completed in 1965, the Mont Blanc Tunnel is 11,611 metres (7.215 mi) long, 8.6 metres (28 ft) wide, and 4.35 metres (14.3 ft) high. 

Next stop, France.