Verona, Italy

One day, I'm going to invent this invention that maps out thoughts. It's going to be super cool. Like holographic and shit. The moment a word, phrase, image, or song suddenly appears in your mind, it's going to project a chain of memories linking the present thought to its origins. Imagine the possibilities. Finally, we'll be able to see the beginnings of our prejudices, biases, and fears! But, my intention for this invention is less noble. I just really want to know why I started to sing "My Sharona" when I found a dirt cheap flight to Verona.

Verona, Sharona, yeah, the two rhyme. "It makes sense!" you say. Not really though because this is fair Verona from that famous play. I should've been reciting "O Romeo, Romeo!", instead, it was 'M-m-m-my Sharona!' Our arrival didn't help much either, no matter how much the city banked on its star-crossed lovers. Maybe I'm old (I doubt anyone under 30 knows the song) and jaded? Or maybe, the Roman goddess of love, Venus, was having her way with me during our stay. Come to find out (i.e. today) "My Sharona" is also about a man who pines for his beloved -- go figure.

Love

Love

This double whammy of singing* a song about longing in a city made famous by longing lovers is giving me the hibigeebies right now. Did it all mean something in that annoying New Age way? Who or what had I been longing for? Looking at my pictures again, I'd have to say beauty. But then, does this mean I was in fact longing for l.o.v.e?! Say it ain't so! But then, if not in Verona, where pastel buildings and golden light blend you into her painting, where flutes lull you to sleep on hot summer nights, where art transcends the holy, then where else can I unapologetically long for beauty that is a form of love?

Alas, beauty and love aren't everlasting. Romeo and Juliet die, Sharona ended up marrying someone else, and along with Verona's subtle signs of discontent, we witnessed an overt one. Before the start of Aida, the cast and crew informed the audience of the government's proposal to drastically cut funding to the arts, and in protest, the show began half an hour later than scheduled. To quote one of Verona's most famous residents, Dante, "Beauty awakens the soul to act."

Maybe it is all connected, else I wouldn't have learned this quote today. So the next time I doubt what I'm doing by taking pictures of pretty things and writing quaint little lines, I can remind myself how we always need art.

'Thanks for the photo' tip jar...

V is for Vendetta

Love, hate

and Scientology (Dianetics stand...)

* Lie, I can't sing. It was more like a soundtrack in my brain all. day. long.

Length of Stay

Four days

Docking Index

       

Eight anchors because I'm in l.o.v.e. with the watercolour hues that run throughout the city. Though my rosy glasses came off after seeing who often frequent to Verona -- the uber riche. For us common folk, that means a livability index of next to nothing thanks to non-existent service and astronomical rents. My mom's new brown friends, however, were making do with a smile 😀