Hotel Casci in Florence is family run and Mrs Lombardi, the matriarch, is on duty when we check out after breakfast. Along with our receipt, she gives us a very nice 2015 calendar of Florence! Such a treat! A couple of hours later and we are in Verona, the city of Romeo and Juliet. According to the man at the Office of Tourism, the Capulet and Montagu families did live in Verona. A myth did exist about Romeo and Juliet in the 15th century and Shakespeare exploited it to create his own story!! It certainly creates a lot of tourism for the city judging by the number of tourists at both Juliet's balcony and her tomb. "Where is Romeo buried?" I ask the lady in the ticket office. "He's buried with Juliet," she answers. "Then why is it marked as the tomb of Juliet if they are both in the same grave?" I continue. "Because she died first so therefore it was her tomb not his." was her reply! From her tomb it is only a ten minute walk to her house and balcony. There were few tourists at the crypt but the number of people crammed in the little courtyard of her house was incredible! Tour groups were trying to get in and out, their guides holding up flags, umbrellas, anything bright so their clients wouldn't get lost. The wall adjacent to the balcony was covered with the padlocks that European couples use when they are married. Engraved with their initials and the date of their marriage, they are usually padlocked to a bridge. These were on metal rods attached to the wall. Both the room with Juliet's tomb and the courtyard with her balcony have been totally defaced with graffitti which is such a shame. We turn back towards our hotel and, all of a sudden, there is the Venchi Gelataria right next to us!! Of course we just have to sample something. Mint and dark chocolate today.............   We travelled with Trenitalia trains which we booked on the internet before we left home. www.trenitalia.com   We stayed at Hotel Scalzi in Room 2. An 800m walk from Verona station www.hotelscalzi.it See tripadvisor for more comments. Our room opened out onto a large sunny terrace which had plants around three sides. The table with four chairs in the middle was a very pleasant spot for a drink or a cup of tea. The breakfast was typical European continental which we had in the garden. There is no lift in the hotel. Our room was on the first floor so at least we only had to carry the bags up one floor (29 steps). The wifi was patchy in our room but good on the terrace and in the hotel lounge area. There were also games and books here for guests' use. The air conditioning in our room didn't work properly. We ate at Nastro Azzurro Restaurant in Vicolo Lisone. Just delicious!