Day 8
A big day.....we're off to rent a car for the weekend. We have reservations to see the Scrovegni chapel in Padova so we have a day trip planned.
The Hertz dealership provides us with a dirty Fiat Punto that is prescratched and they manage to add on enough stuff to our contract (GPS, additional insurance because we're in Italy and bad things have a history of happening to rental cars there) to get the price from an "inclusive" 73+ Euros to close to 300 Euros!!
We made it to Padova with no problem except for a final glitch in finding the right parking lot so we dropped off Anabel to pick up our tickets while Annette and I found the parking area.
The Scrovegni Chapel has been described by art experts as the "greatest piece of art of the Western world." It's a small chapel built in the early 1300's as penitence by a Duke who was worried about his future in the hereafter because he and his father were usurers. The entire chapel was frescoed by Giotto with the story of Mary's parents, Mary and Christ and is an astoundingly beautiful work of art. According to Anabel, "this is better than the Sistine Chapel!!!" The drill is a 15 minute wait watching an informational movie in an equilibration area to protect the art from the humidity associated with a bunch of sweaty people and then only 15 minutes in the chapel itself. We are left breathless by this art!
The Eretimani Museum is in the same complex as the chapel and there was a special Tintoretto exhibit in addition to it's usual extensive (REALLY extensive) art collection. The Tintoretto exhibit was great! We very much enjoyed the museum but it almost "arted" us out as we spent the next 2+ hours making our way through it.
All this culture made us hungry so we went to Cafe Pedrocchi for lunch. This is a famous cafe that has been in existence since the late 1700's near the University of Padova. It made it's name as a place where the riots against the Habsburg rulers occurred in the mid 1800's, a place for artists, students and dissidents through the centuries and where one could sit and read the paper (or whatever) without buying anything or could have a coffee or a full meal. It's a huge building taking up an entire city block and there is a 2nd floor with large meeting rooms and an art gallery (which we didn't visit...there's only so much art one can tolerate in one day!)
We had a marvelous lunch of local specialties...a sweet and sour warm chicken salad for Annette, a special pasta dish for me (but now I can't remember exactly what was in it other than artichokes) and Anabel had spaghetti carbonara, all delicious. I believe there was a green salad involved also. All accompanied by an excellent red wine in quantity sufficient to ease our tired feet. There was an assortment of tiny delicious pastries for dessert and I had the coffee special which was a combination of coffee, mint and chocolate with whipped cream. Sounds weird and was but was fairly tasty.
After lunch we went to visit the university where we wanted to to take a tour which included the ancient anatomy lab but, alas, the tour was full so we meandered about the courtyard where I, paying no attention because I was rubbernecking at the surroundings, took a misstep off a small curb twisting my ankle. It was painful for only a few minutes and I continued on, seemingly without problem.
We hit up the university store for a couple of souvenirs and took the tram to visit St. Anthony's Basilica. Construction started on the church in the mid 1200's and new construction continued to be added until the mid 1600's. In addition to relics of St. Anthony (chin and tongue), he was buried here and the basilica has become a shrine for pilgrims who throng here from all over the world for healing. The art and sculpture within the cathedral is lovely and there is a large, beautiful courtyard that can be used for picnicking. Next to the cathedral is the oratorio which we didn't visit.
It was now late in the day and we made our way back to the tram and then to the car. I noticed progressively worsening discomfort in my foot and ankle that I had earlier twisted. As we drove though the afternoon commute traffic out of Padova, my sore foot (the clutch foot in our standard transmission car) was painful and by the time we reached Verona, was definitely a problem.
A note about our apartment garage....something new for all of us. First of all, the entrance was from a very narrow side street. I had been warned to make sure the car was precisely lined up with the garage entrance which required a bit of backing and forwarding on the narrow street. The door was opened by the remote control I had been given which allowed entrance into the ELEVATOR! (narrow and requiring folding in of the side mirrors.) The motor had to be turned off as both the front and back doors of the elevator closed to allow the elevator to descend to the garage level two floors below. A bit creepy all in all but functional.
I could now no longer bear weight without lots of pain and my ankle and foot were quite swollen. Not to fear, I had my own medical team. Anabel had an ACE wrap and after getting me to a chair with my foot elevated, she expertly wrapped my foot and ankle and Annette came up with ice packs. By bedtime, I was much more comfortable.
Thus endeth day 8.
A big day.....we're off to rent a car for the weekend. We have reservations to see the Scrovegni chapel in Padova so we have a day trip planned.
The Hertz dealership provides us with a dirty Fiat Punto that is prescratched and they manage to add on enough stuff to our contract (GPS, additional insurance because we're in Italy and bad things have a history of happening to rental cars there) to get the price from an "inclusive" 73+ Euros to close to 300 Euros!!
We made it to Padova with no problem except for a final glitch in finding the right parking lot so we dropped off Anabel to pick up our tickets while Annette and I found the parking area.
The Scrovegni Chapel has been described by art experts as the "greatest piece of art of the Western world." It's a small chapel built in the early 1300's as penitence by a Duke who was worried about his future in the hereafter because he and his father were usurers. The entire chapel was frescoed by Giotto with the story of Mary's parents, Mary and Christ and is an astoundingly beautiful work of art. According to Anabel, "this is better than the Sistine Chapel!!!" The drill is a 15 minute wait watching an informational movie in an equilibration area to protect the art from the humidity associated with a bunch of sweaty people and then only 15 minutes in the chapel itself. We are left breathless by this art!
 |
| Last Judgment |
 |
| Death of Christ |
 |
| Massacre of the innocents |
 |
| Chapel with its ceiling of incredible lapis lazuli blue |
The Eretimani Museum is in the same complex as the chapel and there was a special Tintoretto exhibit in addition to it's usual extensive (REALLY extensive) art collection. The Tintoretto exhibit was great! We very much enjoyed the museum but it almost "arted" us out as we spent the next 2+ hours making our way through it.
All this culture made us hungry so we went to Cafe Pedrocchi for lunch. This is a famous cafe that has been in existence since the late 1700's near the University of Padova. It made it's name as a place where the riots against the Habsburg rulers occurred in the mid 1800's, a place for artists, students and dissidents through the centuries and where one could sit and read the paper (or whatever) without buying anything or could have a coffee or a full meal. It's a huge building taking up an entire city block and there is a 2nd floor with large meeting rooms and an art gallery (which we didn't visit...there's only so much art one can tolerate in one day!)
We had a marvelous lunch of local specialties...a sweet and sour warm chicken salad for Annette, a special pasta dish for me (but now I can't remember exactly what was in it other than artichokes) and Anabel had spaghetti carbonara, all delicious. I believe there was a green salad involved also. All accompanied by an excellent red wine in quantity sufficient to ease our tired feet. There was an assortment of tiny delicious pastries for dessert and I had the coffee special which was a combination of coffee, mint and chocolate with whipped cream. Sounds weird and was but was fairly tasty.
After lunch we went to visit the university where we wanted to to take a tour which included the ancient anatomy lab but, alas, the tour was full so we meandered about the courtyard where I, paying no attention because I was rubbernecking at the surroundings, took a misstep off a small curb twisting my ankle. It was painful for only a few minutes and I continued on, seemingly without problem.
 |
| A courtyard of the university |
 |
| Facade of university |
 |
| Another courtyard |
 |
| Oratorio |
 |
| Courtyard |
It was now late in the day and we made our way back to the tram and then to the car. I noticed progressively worsening discomfort in my foot and ankle that I had earlier twisted. As we drove though the afternoon commute traffic out of Padova, my sore foot (the clutch foot in our standard transmission car) was painful and by the time we reached Verona, was definitely a problem.
A note about our apartment garage....something new for all of us. First of all, the entrance was from a very narrow side street. I had been warned to make sure the car was precisely lined up with the garage entrance which required a bit of backing and forwarding on the narrow street. The door was opened by the remote control I had been given which allowed entrance into the ELEVATOR! (narrow and requiring folding in of the side mirrors.) The motor had to be turned off as both the front and back doors of the elevator closed to allow the elevator to descend to the garage level two floors below. A bit creepy all in all but functional.
I could now no longer bear weight without lots of pain and my ankle and foot were quite swollen. Not to fear, I had my own medical team. Anabel had an ACE wrap and after getting me to a chair with my foot elevated, she expertly wrapped my foot and ankle and Annette came up with ice packs. By bedtime, I was much more comfortable.
Thus endeth day 8.
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