Padua and Monticello

4/6/09

As we rounded out our time in Venice, we took the train to Padua or Padova as we spell it in English. Does anyone else think it is wierd that we spell city named differently on maps in English versus Italian? If the city name is Padua, then leave it Padua in the guide book because I will get off at the wrong stop if it really is something different that I am looking for. Anyways, just a wierd thing you learn when you go overseas.

Padua was just a little town by Vicenza where we could just spend the afternoon and get to see what we wanted to se. Here is the picture of us sitting on a park bench in the city.
While we were wandering around the city, we ran into this fountain and Leann had to have her picture taken with it. Of course, I didn't want to take the picture and look like a tourist, so I stook back and had her do a circle around the fountain and I just snapped several different pictures. I am sure that didn't make people notice her right? She just obliged my silly thought.

We also stopped for lunch and this is a very typical lunch for us while we were on vacation. We would have a sandwich and a water usually. In America, you order and sandwich and tell them what you want on it. That is not the case in Italy. They make a specific sandwich and that is what you get. You can request to have things added but they often look at you like "how dare you" and may or may not put it on your sandwich. Also, European pop tastes different from US pop. Their pop has less carbonation we think. It just tastes a little different. It also comes in a different shape of a can too. They are taller and skinnier.

OK, on to the reason that we were here for. We wanted to see the Scrovegni Chapel which was similar to the Sistine Chapel in size. The walls are all painted with different scenes from Jesus life and death and resurrection. The chapel was built as an offering of pentenance to the Catholic church for a man's sins and his sons. The painting inside depicts the scene of them offering the church to Christ and he accepts it and lets them out of hell. Very interesting thought - even though you can't back that up with any Biblical teaching at all. Most of the art can't be backed up with Biblical fact, but more with Catholicism history. The chapel was nice, but you only got to spend 15 minutes in it and it wasn't really worth it, especially if you are going to see the Sistine chapel. It is much better by far.

Padua was actually one of our worst days in Italy. We couldn't get to where we wanted to go. We got lost - twice! We spent money on something that didn't really deserve it. We also got stalked through the museums that we went through and it made us feel like thieves or something by how closely we were being watched. Also, there were a ton of people out on the streets walking around and we constantly feel like we were being bumped into or prodded to move.

An interesting story is that I almost got arrested, I think. We got lost and so we walked back to the train station so that I could look at a map. Of course I couldn't find a map of just Padua. There were maps of Rome and all of Italy, but not Padua. So, I was going through all the map books which were on the bottom shelf of a shop trying to find a book that had a map of Padua in it. After the 4th or 5th book, I finally found a book with a map, mind you I was squatting down looking at them the whole time. I spent some time reading the map and tryin to figure out road names. (The reason we were lost was because the road had 2 names.....one on the map and a different one on the street signs. It isn't for several blocks that they finally match up.) So, I am reading this map and Leann is in the bathroom because she was anxious because we were lost. I think I get it all figured out and put the book back. I stand up and look down the isle and there is a police officer standing there watching me. We made eye contact and I kept it for about 3 seconds and then turned 90 degrees and faced the other shelf. I pulled my Rick Steve's book out of my pocket in my jacket and flipped it open to the map there and restudied it to see why the maps were different. The office continued to stand there and stare at me. After about 1 minute, he walked to the counter and just stood there. I finished reading my map and walked out of the store. I was sure I was going to be called in for questioning or something since he was staring at me. I started to get worried because Leann wasn't with me and I thought how great that would be if she came to find me and can't. She wouldn't know where I was or what happened because I would be in some room being questioned by the ITALIAN MAFIA!!! I was sure of it. Right then, Leann came out of the bathroom and I told her briefly what happened and we high tailed it out of the train station. We made it out of the building and about 1/2 block away when we heard sirens coming at us. A police car was coming from the opposite direction and pulled up right around us and got out. Leann and I didn't stop and they went into the train station. We just kept walking - and that is how we escaped certain death...or at least that will be the story when I am not able to remember what really happened! :)

The next day we all went for a car ride to Montecello (I think). This is the castle on a hill that beside another hill with a castle. Apparently, these are the two castles (or two families) that Shakespear got his inspiration for to write Romeo and Juliet (and their feuding families). You really couldn't see the castle very well and couldn't see the other one at all. It was kind of a dud but at least we got a picture of something right! Because of the dud, we got some gelato, loaded up in the car and headed back home.

Next up is our trip to Rome.