Day trip to Padova

It's 5.40 a.m. and I groan somewhat, but only a little because it's my choice after all to get up so early. ilmeteo.it, my main source of generally inaccurate and often alarming weather forecasts, has been unusually convinced and implacable for the last week at least. A red hot sun and perceived temperature of 34 degrees centigrade in Padova, where we are planning to spend the day before a morning flight from Venice to the UK.

It's considerably less outside in the mountains when I finally put in the willpower and go upstairs to get breakfast at 5.46. Like about 14 degrees. Despite the early rise, after a last minute check to the tomatoes, collection of a few strawberries and indoor plant movement we are in the car for 7. Dark clouds are looming in the direction rain usually comes from and after the violent storm and hail of the evening before we are happy to be off.

I drive as far as the motorway and am already sleepy. The sleep which lately has eluded me when in my comfortable bed at night descends like a fuzzy fog as soon as I'm behind the wheel or in front of a less than fascinating student. Gratefully I hand over to Andrea who is a lot better than me at driving on busy motorways anyway, and manage a short but blissful and resolutory nap.

The motorway between Milan and Venice is extremely busy as always but Google maps is accurate and we drive into Parking Centro at Padova at just past 10. The sign says the car park is full but a man waves us in anyway and after a few minutes tracking people arriving with bags we get a space. When we come out the 'full,' sign has been covered up. It costs €1.20 per hour but is covered and with video surveillance and just 5 minutes from the start of the historical centre and the Eremitani and Scrovegni complex.

We are leaving that for later in the day and instead make our way through the centre in the direction of Prato de la Valle. The historical centre of Padova seems very pleasant. 

On the way we have a look in at Palazzo Bo, the University building, and Caffe Pedrocchi, but more of that later....

Prato de la Valle is the biggest square in Italy and the second largest in Europe and, as all the best squares, is oval not square. 

It's impressive, and in support of ilmeteo.it, for once, impressively hot. After a few photos we go into the startlingly cold Santa Giustina church which looks over the square. We are thankful for the extra layer of clothes in my rucksack because the difference in temperature is more than drastic. Santa Giustina is enormous but unadorned and we are a little disappointed until we take a look at our notes which tell us to proceed to the right transept for the martyrs' corridor. Not too certain on the whereabouts of the transept we keep right and find the frescoed corridor which leads to the remains of the oldest part of the church. It's much more atmospheric.

Back out in the heat we head for the Basilica di Sant'Antonio.

The Square outside is full of people and stalls selling memorabilia. The Basilica complex is well organized with lots of signs. First we visit three cloister areas, very pretty with the light coloured brick and flowers, two with enormous magnolia trees and one with a well. 

Secondly, since we wanted to find out a little more about Sant'Antonio, we end up in the Multimedia section which I don't like one bit. Having been prone to dizziness over the last couple of weeks to be in a dark environment with moving wall-size and even floor-size pictures is pretty nightmarish. I close my eyes and hope it will soon be over.

Back in the actual basilica everything is fine, the interior of the basilica is covered in frescoes of various ages and very beautiful.

We regret that this is a fast and not a slow visit to Padova and it's already way past our usual lunch time. We resolve to visit again and also get the audioguides to find out more. Entry to the Basilica is free.

So after a leisurely stroll around the church we head for restaurant da Pippo. It's not a short walk considering that it's hot, way past our normal lunchtime and breakfast was at 5.45. Nevertheless we are crossing the road towards our destination, well out of the centre, just before one o'clock. Except, oh dear, oh dear, it seems to be closed. No chairs or tables outside, it looks dusty with a sun umbrella half open half closed, a curtain covers most of the window. Miraculously I push and the door opens. Da Pippo is open and packed with tables and people eating. What a relief! We sink down at the only free table right below the air conditioning. Water, wine and bread are quickly delivered followed by fast dictation of a choice for five or six first courses and even more seconds. We choose tortellini with cream, mushrooms and spek and then one lamb and one pork with potatoes and artichokes respectively. It's all good solid Italian no-nonsense trattoria food for people with an appetite and despite the heat we definitely qualify. Including cover charge, water, house wine and coffee we spend just €11 per person for this menu del giorno. After coffee we wait a while until sweat from the brisk walk in the heat and piping hot rich fayre dries and body temperature returns to normal and then decide to brave ilmeteo.it's red 34 degree sun. Needless to say, and fortunately, when we emerge much fortified there's a pleasant breeze and some cloud so yes, hot, but bearable.

We stroll slowly in the direction of the Clock tower and the two other  squares Piazza delle Erbe and Piazza della Frutta. 

In between the two is Palazzo della Ragione but once again we take a quick look at the arcades below and the frescoed ceiling of the arches above and decide to leave a more detailed visit until next time. Instead when it opens at three o'clock we go into the Duomo and sit a while to rest and meditate quietly in the cool. The Baptistery would be worth a visit for the frescoes but once again we are pressed for time and also restoration work is taking place so that too is put off until next time.

After the rest in the cool we walk back through the centre and stop at Caffe Pedrocchi. The name of this blog is "Slow travel in Italy and Spain" but really should be "Slow Travel in Italy and Spain on a low budget" because we tend to keep food, accommodation, parking and entry costs as low as possible. Nevertheless, we have a weakness for historical cafés and really special coffee and Pedrocchi fits the bill on both counts. On the style of a Greek temple, Pedrocchi opened in the eighteenth century and was famous for having two 'Sale' that is rooms, one for the rich and famous, originally called the black room (because of the furniture) and later the white room, and the green room where impoverished intellectuals and students were able to meet and keep warm without being obliged to order anything, hence giving rise to the Italian expression "essere al verde" to be "in the green" meaning to be poor. Nowadays Pedrocchi is also famous for its mint coffee - espresso coffee below with minty cream with cocoa powder on top. We have one (3€) and a cappuccino (1.70€) al banco, that is without sitting down and are well satisfied although a little disappointingly the toilets are not as splendid as the other interiors.

Next stop Chiesa degli Eremitani with its splendid wood ceiling and one or two frescoes by Mantenga which were salvaged from the Allied bombing in 1944.

Next door is the Eremitani Museum which has free entry for all of June but not to the Scrovegni Chapel which requires prebooking and timed entry and will be for next time....

Instead we wander around the Museum and Art Gallery collections. The museum includes Roman, Etruscan and Egyptian  sections and is fascinating, especially the Egyptian artif acts and a particularly intricate vase. We also start off around the Art section with enthusiasm but there's no doubt there's too much to absorb for late afternoon after getting up at five even after Pedrocchi's coffee. We stop at the Scrovegni Chapel multimedia centre which fortunately has no vertigo-inducing moving images but an interesting video and closeups about the chapel and Giotto's frescoes which would definitely be worth seeing anyway but especially before a visit to the chapel. I'm particularly struck by the expressions of faces showing everything from fear to compassion to doubt.

Across the road Palazzo Zuccherman is a continuation of the museum with a section on Applied arts actually meaning everything from furniture to porcelain. Once again we are enthusiastic but there are too many things to be able to look at everything in detail. There's also a numismatics section. Anyway, we particularly like the 19th century white marble statues of the Reader and the Artist. To really do justice to the two museums would require a morning visit to one and an afternoon viewing of the other.

Anyway, we come out at well past six and head back to the centre to 100 Montaditos the Spanish Cervecería chain which has a special offer on Wednesdays of 1€ per montadito (mini-sandwich). We get a takeaway box of three each plus crisps for the modest amount of 7 euros and decide to call it a day. We are back at the car park at a quarter to seven and spend 10.80€ for the days' parking. Unusual for us but worth it considering the suitcases in the boot and the convenient and undercover location for the centre. Padova traffic is quiet at that time and by 7.30pm we are at Hotel Altieri in Favaro Veneto not far from the airport for the next day.

The hotel is uhm err amazingly cheap. Booking directly what with special offers etc a double room including a decidedly acceptable buffet breakfast with unlimited juice and coffee is just over €35 including €4.80 of tourist tax. On booking I was somewhat suspicious, some past reviews were highly critical. Instead we are pleasantly surprised, the room is clean, modern and functional with air-conditioning TV and even a small fridge hidden in a cupboard. The car park is behind and Jazz can once again be parked safely. There's even a balcony so we sit outside in the cool evening air to enjoy our Montaditos. A great day indeed, not at all slow but very enjoyable.