“Juliet wrote me back?!”

For I never saw true beauty till this night – Romeo

First things first, I can be a hopeless romantic sometimes, all the sugary novels I read and romanticized movies I watched sure did what they’re supposed to do to people’s brain. Of course the most famous love story of all time, peeked my attention too, I found something magical in the town called Verona. Shakespeare actually wrote three novels based in Verona, even though it’s not confirmed he has actually been to the place, I’m sure he found it too, the magical part. So, keeping that in mind, I absolutely love the thought of me writing in my journal, sipping on a “insert expensive wine here” and looking out at beautiful, big monuments. Not too much later I took a plane to get to Italy and booked a room close to the center of Verona. Verona is most known for its romantic scenery, historical buildings and of course the several famous hotspots like the amphitheater, ‘Arena di Verona’, which I’ll talk about in another post. After I spent a short night at the hotel I went to Juliet’s notorious balcony, “Casa de Giulietta.” Rumor has is that the woman whom Shakespeare was inspired by to write the story, actually lived in the old house, that was before they build the balcony though. The place is very, very crowed and you can see couples holding hands everywhere you go, not the greatest place to go while being single, I agree.

 
When I entered the tunnel at the entrance of the garden I noticed thousands of little papers, stickers and handwritten notes stuck to the walls. So many people have come there, being in love, sharing that moment, sigh, if you ignore the massive crowd dragging around their selfie-sticks it’s really quite romantic. In the garden there’s a bronze statue resembling Juliet, an old saying claims that touching the statue’s right breast brings luck to your love life, so hey, maybe not the worst place for singles to go, after all. There’s one movie I watched that stood out to me in particular and made me go the mile, it’s called “Letters to Juliet”, starring Amanda Seyfried and Christopher Egan. The storyline is cute and simple and I fell in love with the idea of people writing letters to “Juliet and her helpers” and actually getting one back. So, this is where things get really excited, well, at least for a dork, like me. I looked up online to see if the movie was based on a true story or if they just made it up, but I couldn’t find any information about it. So, I really wanted to find it out, took the benefit of the doubt and wrote a letter.


 
When I got into Juliet’s house, I first found multiple books, displaying the story of Romeo and Juliet, their bed from the tale and clothes people wore back in the day, it was like a little museum. I was pleasantly surprised to find little mailboxes spread around the venue, meant for visitors to put their letters in. At this time I seriously started to wonder if I would actually get a letter back. I can’t really remember how much time had passed, but I was so startled when I saw a handwritten envelope in my mail, shipped from Italy. The letter I got was so sweet and personal and me being a writer, I was so in awe about how amazing this is. Like, someone actually took the time to write me this very kind letter and send it all the way to The Netherlands, that’s crazy awesome, right?! Crazy romantic too. Let me know if you would like to know any tips of getting a reply by Juliet or any other advice on visiting Verona, I’m always happy to share and make your stay just as wonderful as mine.

While the rain is pouring down from the sky and I’m impatiently waiting on my green tea to cool off so I can take a few sips, I scroll through my pictures of the last trip I took. It’s times like these I find myself reminiscing about beautiful beaches and places and people that’ve earned themselves little places in my heart. Gladly, I’m ready to share all these amazing adventures and hidden treasures with you, my fellow travel addicts. Today it’s time to discuss one of the hidden treasures I found on the island of Zakynthos, Cameo Island.

Before I got on the plane and stuffed my summer wardrobe in my floral suitcase, I did some research and made a little list of things and places I wanted to see while visiting Zakynthos. I can be quite a control freak when it comes to things like this, I’m one of those people who’s always scared to miss something beautiful. Isn’t there a name for that? A fear of missing out, that’s what people call it, I guess. Anyways, Cameo Island was on the list and without further due I’ll tell you about this amazing little island. I stayed at the village Agios Sostis, which is very close to Cameo, so the day I arrived I could already take a good look. Despite my tiredness and ascending amount of hunger, I got very excited. The big white cloths hanging from a string, dancing in the wind, created a laid-back, very relaxing vibe, even from a far.



The island is connected to the port of Agios Sostis by a large, wooden bridge. At daytime the island serves as a place to tan and swim, there’s a really small beach area, made of pebbles. There’re two bars located on Cameo Island, one upstairs and one downstairs. Here you can buy your drinks, soft and alcoholic and order some snacks, like sandwiches and burgers. I made the mistake of assuming you can eat dinner there, that wasn’t the case. I showed up around 8 pm, after you’ve walked the long bridge, you have to climb a few stairs, which makes it not suitable for people who have difficulties walking. There you have to buy a ticket, the ticket costs 5 euros per person, but you can exchange it for a free drink at one of the bars. When I realized there wasn’t an opportunity to have dinner, which I should’ve asked beforehand, the people at the door told me I could just come back later if I showed them the ticket I bought, which is what I did. I went out for dinner and later, I think around 11 pm, came back to Cameo Island.



I was truly stunned by what I found there, it was like the whole place transformed into a bruising nightclub. There was a DJ playing the kind of music that makes you unwind and loosen up at the same time. The whole ambiance was laid-back, very relaxing and the location was seriously gorgeous. I mean, how awesome is it to drink a delicious cocktail at an open-air club on a small, tiny island?! The vibe was very Ibiza and the people all seemed swooned away by the music. I normally don’t go out clubbing that much, but this was a very different atmosphere going on. It wasn’t too crowded, but I’ve heard people say it depends on which day you go. I think it’s best to inform at the port whether there’s a party, or maybe a wedding, which Cameo Island is also very known for. I also recommend renting a boat or going on a boat trip to turtle island, you’ll get an amazing view of Cameo Island, which is great for taking phenomenal pictures and show your folks back home, or, like me, look back at on rainy days.