Thursday 22nd August
Overnight
I discovered that my new room was a lot noisier than the old one! I heard lots
of doors banging from the rooms below. I heard the bells and also heard a
singing gondolier.
Seeing
Padua was so close, we had decided to take a day trip there.We met up at 10.30
and set off by waterbus to the train station. A return ticket to Padua was only
about 7 euros. Of course we forgot the business of validating our train
tickets, but we spoke to the conductor before getting on and she did it for us
by hand, to save us walking back.
A
bus station was just outside the train station, so we got a map and bus tickets
in order to travel to the Basilica of St Anthony. Inside we saw bronzes by
Donnatello. Outside the grounds were beautiful.
Outside
we saw what was meant to be the largest square in Europe – seemed small to us
by the standards of Prague and Sienna. We sat and drank coffee and decided we
were disappointed in Padua.
We
set off walking, following a map to the Scrovegni Chapel and on the way soon
changed our mind. We found some fantastic old buildings. From a few plaques on
the ground I formed the hypothesis that a lot of Padua was destroyed in favour
of new buildings, but a line was drawn where the old ones would remain. They
were lovely and much more interesting.
The
Scrovegni Chapel has frescoes by Giotto. We decided we were not interested
enough to pay the 13 euro entrance fee but we sat in the shade and enjoyed a
drink. I tried a
spritz and decided never again! I didn’t even finish
it and felt quite drunk and then very sore in lots of muscles. It took about an
hour to feel normal again!
On the way home we stopped at the Rialto Bridge for
dinner in a restaurant slightly off the beaten track but overlooking the canal.
Of course on the way home we shopped and explored and took the long route via
San Marco.
Here’s the view from my bedroom window by night,
with the full moon and the Basilica shining above the nearby roof tops.
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