19 September '05, Monday.
What a day...we arrived in Padua just before noon and after setting up we were underway to find a bus into town. Our campground is quite a way out from Padua, so it took a little time before we finally got a chance to see the sites. Wait a minute, I guess I should get back to yesterday because I didn't have a journal done for Sunday... All night Saturday and all day Sunday it rained, so we decided we should do some washing. The campground in Vicenza has a large covered area in the same area as the washer, so Louise decided that rain or no rain, the wash would probably dry anyway...wrong...it hung all day and throughout the night and it was drier, but still not dry enough to pack away. Yesterday we also met a great couple from Great Britain...Rob and Loes. Rob came by about 5 and said that they were thinking of pizza for dinner and wanted us to join them. That did sound good, so of course we accepted. Not only was the pizza good, but their company was also very enjoyable, but unfortunately much too short. They pulled out this morning and headed out toward Pisa. We'll try to get them over to see the northwest after we get back. Ok, back to today, after packing "Bumble Bee" (including the very damp wash) we were underway to Padua as I wrote earlier. With Rick Steves book in hand, we started out to enjoy some great sites that Padua has to offer. Now it's not that we did everything right, because we didn't, we got lost again trying to follow his map (I think we would have gotten lost using anyones map). The problem was, they change the street names constantly. When there is a major intersection, that seems to give them (the Italians) the idea that now they can change the name to keep those damn tourists confused...it works !!! Thank god Padua isn't too large, so we were able to finally get to the spot we were looking for. Rick Steves tells us in his Italy 2005 guide book that we will NEED to book reservations to see the Cappella degli Scrovegni (Scrovegni Chapel). This chapel has over 40 frescoes that were painted by Giotto from 1303 to 1305. These are large paintings that are painted on the walls and ceiling of the chapel. These scenes are depicting the lives of Jesus and Mary. It's said that Giotto "placed real people into real scenes, expressing real human emotions". Some of them were like looking at 3-D, they were so good. We thought we would drop by and see if it were possible to either get right in, or possibly set up a time for early tomorrow. They will only allow 25 people into see the chapel at a time, and then only for 15 minutes. This is because they want to control the humidity inside the chapel to protect the paintings and the rest of the interior from decaying. When we walked up to the ticket window, I asked for 2 tickets and was blown away when she told us we would be in the next group. Not only were we excited with getting right in, but we were in a group of only 6 people (small is good...), the group in front of us was 24, and the group behind us, 25...go figure.. Anyway, this was really an exciting opportunity, and we both walked out feeling we had had the opportunity to see some important works of art, and fortunately someone has taken the responsiblity to do something to preserve it. Leaving there, we walked casually through the rest of the town just soaking in the atmosphere of Padua, and it does have atmosphere... Finally at the other end of Padua, we came across the next "Must See" while we are here..."THE" Basilica of St. Anthony... It is "The", because it is where Friar Anthony of Padua, "St. Anthony" is buried (1195-1231. This Basilica is not one that you would call small, it is large..very large...and very impressive to say the least... In the last 18+ months, we have seen a few churches, chapels, DOMS, Basilicas, and on, but this one is something special...no doubt about it and it's been here for over 800 years. The Basilica also has an outstanding collection of fine art and sculptures. About half of these were done in the 13th century and a large balance in the 19th and 20th centuries. There is a lot more to say about today, but that will just have to wait for now. It was getting late, and we had a bus to catch. The traffic was at a stand-still for more than half the way back, and seeing as it was totally dark, we missed our bus stop. Thanks to Louise, we were only one stop away, but that seemed like a mile. The walk back in the dark was interesting, but mostly uneventful. Tomorrow....Venezia (Venice)
What a day...we arrived in Padua just before noon and after setting up we were underway to find a bus into town. Our campground is quite a way out from Padua, so it took a little time before we finally got a chance to see the sites. Wait a minute, I guess I should get back to yesterday because I didn't have a journal done for Sunday... All night Saturday and all day Sunday it rained, so we decided we should do some washing. The campground in Vicenza has a large covered area in the same area as the washer, so Louise decided that rain or no rain, the wash would probably dry anyway...wrong...it hung all day and throughout the night and it was drier, but still not dry enough to pack away. Yesterday we also met a great couple from Great Britain...Rob and Loes. Rob came by about 5 and said that they were thinking of pizza for dinner and wanted us to join them. That did sound good, so of course we accepted. Not only was the pizza good, but their company was also very enjoyable, but unfortunately much too short. They pulled out this morning and headed out toward Pisa. We'll try to get them over to see the northwest after we get back. Ok, back to today, after packing "Bumble Bee" (including the very damp wash) we were underway to Padua as I wrote earlier. With Rick Steves book in hand, we started out to enjoy some great sites that Padua has to offer. Now it's not that we did everything right, because we didn't, we got lost again trying to follow his map (I think we would have gotten lost using anyones map). The problem was, they change the street names constantly. When there is a major intersection, that seems to give them (the Italians) the idea that now they can change the name to keep those damn tourists confused...it works !!! Thank god Padua isn't too large, so we were able to finally get to the spot we were looking for. Rick Steves tells us in his Italy 2005 guide book that we will NEED to book reservations to see the Cappella degli Scrovegni (Scrovegni Chapel). This chapel has over 40 frescoes that were painted by Giotto from 1303 to 1305. These are large paintings that are painted on the walls and ceiling of the chapel. These scenes are depicting the lives of Jesus and Mary. It's said that Giotto "placed real people into real scenes, expressing real human emotions". Some of them were like looking at 3-D, they were so good. We thought we would drop by and see if it were possible to either get right in, or possibly set up a time for early tomorrow. They will only allow 25 people into see the chapel at a time, and then only for 15 minutes. This is because they want to control the humidity inside the chapel to protect the paintings and the rest of the interior from decaying. When we walked up to the ticket window, I asked for 2 tickets and was blown away when she told us we would be in the next group. Not only were we excited with getting right in, but we were in a group of only 6 people (small is good...), the group in front of us was 24, and the group behind us, 25...go figure.. Anyway, this was really an exciting opportunity, and we both walked out feeling we had had the opportunity to see some important works of art, and fortunately someone has taken the responsiblity to do something to preserve it. Leaving there, we walked casually through the rest of the town just soaking in the atmosphere of Padua, and it does have atmosphere... Finally at the other end of Padua, we came across the next "Must See" while we are here..."THE" Basilica of St. Anthony... It is "The", because it is where Friar Anthony of Padua, "St. Anthony" is buried (1195-1231. This Basilica is not one that you would call small, it is large..very large...and very impressive to say the least... In the last 18+ months, we have seen a few churches, chapels, DOMS, Basilicas, and on, but this one is something special...no doubt about it and it's been here for over 800 years. The Basilica also has an outstanding collection of fine art and sculptures. About half of these were done in the 13th century and a large balance in the 19th and 20th centuries. There is a lot more to say about today, but that will just have to wait for now. It was getting late, and we had a bus to catch. The traffic was at a stand-still for more than half the way back, and seeing as it was totally dark, we missed our bus stop. Thanks to Louise, we were only one stop away, but that seemed like a mile. The walk back in the dark was interesting, but mostly uneventful. Tomorrow....Venezia (Venice)
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