From Lake Maggiore (Stresa) the train took me to Verona – what a romantic little town!
One of my aims during this time in Italy, was to focus attention on photography and attending as much as possible music shows wherever I have the opportunity. I was lucky to be able to attend a Music festival in Stresa. Here in Verona the Roman Amphitheatre is a popular place for music concerts, especially for opera productions. I saw the opera Tosca here. A great experience on a beautiful summer evening in the open air theatre.
Because I visited Venice before in 2001, I decided to do only a day trip from Verona (about an hour’s trip with the train). It ended up in a total photographic expedition. I tried to take as many photographs I could during one day and couldn’t drag myself away the evening at about 08:30 to catch the train back to Verona… I remember standing before the train station, taking up as much as possible of the ambiance, colours of dusk and the unique atmosphere of Venice, and boarded the train with a heavy heart. I didn’t know if I would see the place ever again! This is usually the worst part of travelling – saying goodbye…
My next stop was trying something totally new in Italy – the Marche district. I took a train from hell (very full of locals on summer holiday, very hot, without air conditioning …) to Urbino. The last section by bus to the little university town on the hill. What an experience! I still want to go back to this very special place… Two days were not enough. In this area of Italy one does not really hear English or see any newspapers/books etc in English. People spot you immediately as a foreigner, especially when travelling alone… they literally stare at you. I felt a bit “out of place”, but still enjoyed myself thoroughly, because of the quaintness of the town, as well as my very friendly hosts, who collected me at the bus station, brought me a big bottle of water (because they saw I was totally dehydrated) and gave me the loveliest room, looking out over the old part of the town… and now nostalgia is setting in again! Let the photographs complete the story …
Travel Notes 
Very special memories.