Episode 1 : Italy & Switzerland - The ALPS Imagine, taking an extreme sportster like Tyler and transporting him to some of the highest peaks in the world for a chance to cram a half-pipe at 15000 feet. Nothing could have prepared him for the onslaught of adrenaline and culture shock, except maybe skateboarding the DVP during rush hour. Then it happened. They appeared above, and sang out those famous words that conjured memories of an immortal love affair retold a thousand times and adored by millions.
My Verona (Preview) Highlights: Gondola rides at the top of the world... A 6 hour forage into Verona to catch the opera AIDA... sharing rare air and tasty capps with buds.
Romeo, oh Romeo... Wherefore art thou, dude! The image on the right is the actual balcony where Juliet stood and called out for Romeo. The Capulets and the Montagues were the most prominent families in Verona all those years ago, and the feud between them was so nasty that if a servant from one family was caught cavorting with the servant of the other, the punishment was unspeakable. So, the son of Lord Montague falling for the daughter of the house of Capulet? Uh, not a good idea.
Other facts: Romeo & Juliet was written by Shakespeare early in his career, around 1595, and early in the 1600s he would go on to write four of history's greatest tragedies, Hamlet, King Lear, Macbeth, and Othello. Despite its lowly status compared to his other works, Romeo & Juliet remains the number one play enacted by high school students in North America. Star-crossed lovers Many couples, seeking to escape their feuding families, have eloped and exchanged their vows of undying love in secret. But most don't make it to Verona! Top spots for eloping lovers are Niagara Falls, Ontario and Las Vegas, Nevada. The latter is SO popular the concept was made into a movie in 1992, "Honeymoon in Las Vegas", starring Nicholas Cage and Sarah Jessica Parker. It runs 95 minutes and it's rated PG-13.