jo-shanevenice18

[jo-shanevenice18]

Travel to Firenze

6/05/2018: Today we're off to seek the delightful Tuscan sun, travelling to the beautiful city of Firenze, capital of Tuscany and one time capital of Italy.

Different priorities had everyone rising at different times. Shane early, to watch the fishermen stocking up the markets before the crowds grew and the others whenever, as all that was needed was to pack and be on the train around lunch time. It wasn't long before everyone's plans were thwarted as the markets weren't open on Sundays and the youngens who own the joint turning up early, expecting it to be empty. We intended to vacate the apartment at eleven for the train leaving Venezia San Lucia Station at twelve twenty five but Piero and his sister turned up at ten, expecting us to be gone. There was confusion in translation when we first arrived, Piero misinterpreting our departure time. No problems though, except that his next guests were arriving at four and he needed to get the place up to scratch. Needing to vacate earlier than planned necessitated some frantic packing.

Gondoliers getting ready for the day

Finally packed and out the door, we jumped on the first available vaporetto at San Silvestro and meandered our way to Ferrovia stop, right on the forecourt leading to the entrance to San Lucia Station. Being well and truly early, we sat around for a while with drinks until the platform number came up on the board. The train was terminating at Napoli via Venezia Mestre, Padova, Bologna, Florence and Rome. A much anticipated two hour and five minute trip in Business Class.

No less impressive than the last time we were in one, Frecciarossa had eleven carriages and must have been almost four hundred metres long, and you guessed it, we were in carriage two at the other end, so it was a long walk down the platform before we could board. Apart from the problems of actually getting the luggage through the train doors, they persisted once on board when we found that there were too many bags and they were too big. Most of the luggage storage was above our heads although there was storage between the seats, the ten or more items of hand luggage well and truly took up the overhead racks and two bags were squeezed between the seats. The remaining three suitcases went in a rack at the end of the carriage.

Cramped on the vaporetto for the last time

After a very comfortable trip, enjoying the Tuscan countryside at high speed, we arrived at Santa Maria Novella Station and headed to the cab rank out the wrong door. Dragging the suitcases down a lengthy set of stairs and onto the footpath of Via Luigi Alamanni, all we encountered were gypsies and Africans trying to get some business out of us. If we wanted a tram then this was the spot. Ignoring them, we walked a short distance and dragged the suitcases up the lengthy set of stairs that would lead us to the taxi rank. After a short wait, we were led by a driver to two cars that managed all of our luggage, subsequently dropping us off as close to Piazza della Signoria as possible as no vehicles were permitted in the square.

Upon arrival we found that there was no one to meet us. We had sent an email before leaving but with it being Sunday, we probably should have sent it the night before. They hadn't responded so they mustn't have read it. Jo had to phone them and organise for someone to show us around the apartment, take our bond and give us the keys. 

Waiting for the host to arrive

As was last time we stayed in this building, the apartment was lovely, matched only by the location. Third floor with a lift made the climb much easier, but only two bedrooms meant that Aunty Cec was on the couch. Mum and dad in the main bedroom, the sons in the other and Cecilia on the sofa bed in the lounge room. Also, as was last time, we were welcomed by the local clans and the flag waving show. The view of Palazzo Vecchio, the Uffizi and Loggia dei Lanzi showing off Perseus with the Head of Medusa and Rape of the Sabines along with the Fountain of Neptune was more than welcome.

Flag wavers welcoming us

View from our window

Once settled in we walked around the area looking at the stalls, particularly Thomas who scouted around for a leather jacket. There was plenty of variety and large differences in cost. The jackets that he liked were in the vicinity of four hundred dollars so he kept looking around, joining the rest of us admiring the impressive location as we wandered around Piazza della Signoria towards the Uffizi and the loggia, taking great interest in the statues, of which some had been standing for several centuries. The numerous street artists and performers also took our attention but tucker was on our minds.  We enjoyed the entertainment for a while before wandering down Via Calimala towards Piazza della Repubblica to look around for a feed. Two places stood out immediately, Fiorino D'Oro Ristorante and Pizzeria on the corner and Ristorante Pescerosso next door. There were also a couple of others further down but we stuck to the first two, deciding to eat at the one on the corner. 

Not a cheap feed

Following an okay meal, we finished the night wandering around the Duomo on dusk before heading back to apartment to watch the goings on in the piazza until bed.

Duomo di Firenze

Loggia dei Lanzi late at night

Tomorrow will be a fun day. Looking forward to it.

[jo-shanevenice18]

A Couple of Easy Ones Around the Town

4-5/05/2018: A couple of days to go and we've done what we wanted, Murano, Burano, Padova. We done plenty last time we were here but just looking around is what's best about this city. We have two days of exploring, go our separate ways and find stuff, whether planned or not.

Planning the day

Friday, we wandered out mid-morning after working out the garbage regime. Shane & Jo their direction, Cecilia hers and the boys theirs. We wanted another Venetian mask but could not remember where the shop that we got the last one was located. Knowing where the palazzo was where we stayed last time was a help and our memories and the shop's relation to it worked out fine.

We headed toward Saint Toma vaporetto stop and found the courtyard of the palazzo. From there it was easy, back along the alley where it met Calle Centani, turn left and there it was just a few metres away.  An interesting aside was that we found a store with nice leather bags. We intended to return later on in the day to buy a handbag for Jo.

Calle Centani, the laneway to our last place

We looked at several masks and the one we liked most was nearly three hundred euro so we kept looking. Several masks resembled the mask that we bought from this shop the last time we were here but we weren't sure just what it looked like except that it was a female mask with musical notation as a theme. Jo got Mitch to send a photo of the mask to her phone and we ended up picking one similar, except male this time. This one cost one hundred and eighty Euros cash. We didn't want to carry it around all day so we gave the dude one hundred, said that we would collect it later and moved on.

Shop full of masks

The next task was to head to Stazione di Venezia Santa Lucia to buy the train tickets to Florence that we would need in a couple of days time, casually taking in the experience of walking the streets, tourists and all. We aimed to find somewhere for a tea and coffee and a snack on the way but came across a little hole in the wall bar on sun bathed Campo dei Tolentini, bounded by the sizable Chiesa di San Nicola da Tolentino with its Corinthian portico at the front and Rio del Tolentini directly opposite. Bacareto de Lele was packed with people queuing onto the fondamenta so something good was happening. People were hanging around eating and drinking where they stood so Shane joined the line to end up getting a couple of small wines and small bread rolls with porchetta. 

Campo dei Tolentini

Standing room only

The wines came to one Euro sixty and the rolls the same. We had an excellent snack for just over three Euro and used the ornate balustrade of the steps leading to Ponte dei Tonentini as a table. Sometimes it’s the small things you experience that stick in your mind.

Enjoying the sunshine

Unlike our last train trip from Florence to Venice where we had to change trains at Bologna and carry all the bags from one platform, down and back upstairs to an adjacent platform, all the time looking for the first class carriages, this one was direct on the Frecciarossa  so Aunty Cecilia wouldn't be a burden given her crook back, difficulty in keeping up and given the limited time available. Business class cost us about fifty seven euro (ninety dollars) each. We were to leave Venice at twelve thirty for a two hour and five minute journey.

Pietro Paleòcapa seated in Giardini Papadopoli, a leafy bit of green space near the station. We sat on a park bench enjoying the solitude and green space until gate crashed by twenty odd seven to ten year old school kids. We knew when we were defeated and gladly gave up our seat for them.

We then decided to catch the vaporetto to Saint Marco stop and walk back, so after purchasing seventy five minute tickets we waited patiently on Pontoon B to take the number two boat. A boat arrived as we hit the pontoon but there was so many people that we missed it. We did however manage to get on the next boat about fifteen minutes later but were packed in like sardines. Quite uncomfortable. No sight seeing on this trip but as people got off at Rialto more room became available. Upon disembarking at San Marco, although we were a part of the problem, we tried to get away from the tourists. There were thousands. We followed the throng through the streets back toward the Rialto Bridge window shopping as we went. 

People queuing to get into Saint Mark's Basilica

A bit of room in the piazza today

When the bridge came into view to our left, we kept on straight ahead, moving away from it. Jo noticed an interesting bar on our right, Bacaro Jazz. We headed in for a drink. This place focused on jazz music and had it on the television non stop. It also had a ceiling totally covered in women's bras. It was quite interesting as was our conversation with other couples in there. One from Brittany who emphasised that Parisiennes were not indicative of people from other areas of France and some Canadians who we agreed to not call Americans if they didn't call us New Zealanders. It was all in jest and good fun.

Interesting ceiling

From there we headed back to the mask shop to complete our purchase as well as an Italian hand bag for Jo, returning our goodies to the apartment before hunting down Cecilia at her favourite haunt, sucking on a few vinos and her vaping stick. Another wine and we were off to freshen up for dinner.

Cecilia's locale

Since this would be our last restaurant dinner in Venice, we headed for a place where we had a good feed last time we were here, Ristorante Due Colonne near Campo San Agostin. The place was painted white this time and a lot brighter. After another enjoyable meal were retired back to the apartment for a failed attempt at Dictionary, another at Celebrity Heads but a successful game of Pass the Pigs before bed. Part of the entertainment was the drunken music session with Thomas blowing in a bottle, Beau popping his cheeks and Jo flicking her wine glass. Meanwhile Cecilia was filming and pissing herself laughing while Shane was standing behind Jo and unbeknownst to her, lowering his daks when in frame.

A good day exploring today. Tomorrow should be good as well.

Saturday was our last day in Venice which would be spent as was yesterday, taking it easy and looking around again. First things first though, the Jets played Victory in the A League Grand Final this morning our time. 7:50pm at home was ten to twelve here. We should have been able to lob on up to a bar and watch it. As luck would have it there was nowhere around that televised the match. What an insult, Italians not being interested in Australian football. The internet was too slow as well so we had to miss out.

Anyway, we just wandered around again, got lost and done our thing. Cecilia, Jo and Shane headed out leaving the boys to their own devices but within a hundred metres, Cecilia had dropped off leaving Jo and Shane remaining. We had only one thing to take care of today, namely another Italian leather bag from the Chinese shop nearby (unfortunately it’s a reality), but from a different tangent. We decided to look at the other side of the canal and end up, if we couldn't find any elsewhere to buy them, at the leather bag shop that was somewhere near the apartment.

With Cecilia doing her own thing we headed towards the market area at Rialto where the aftermath of the morning fish markets was underway. 

Still plenty to choose from at lunch time

Seafood was still in some stalls but many were practically empty. Might reflect the price put on their product. Most stalls however were finished and packing up. The only winners at this stage were the huge gulls hanging around. As big as the Californian ones we experienced around Monterey a few years ago. They were particularly interesting as though very cautious if approached, were sifting through the wrapping and containers for a morsel of leftovers. They needn't have been bothered too much as they were big enough to take a finger off if they wanted. One product that was still plentiful was bags of mussels for a couple of Euro each. We didn't bother but should have taken a couple of bags home for an easy dinner.

They're all winners here

Fish Market price list

Following an interesting look at the Rialto seafood goodies, we jumped on the vaporetto and headed to the Salute stop, just across from San Marco. Disembarking in beautiful sunshine, we were greeted by another minor basilica, this time Santa Maria della Salute. We were now on Fondamenta Salute and Punta della Dogana, the triangular peninsula nestled between the Grand and Giudecca Canals. The location of the contemporary art gallery, also called Punta della Dogana and the Dogana da Mar, one of Venice's old customs buildings, right at the tip. There were plenty of young couples taking it easy around the area giving at a romantic feel.

Santa Maria della Salute

San Marco from Dogana da Mar

Fondamenta Zattere Ai Saloni was the path facing Giudecca, the island across the way. This is where we headed and for the next ten minutes there were bugger all tourists. We weren't sure of the area though and were keen to get back to the Grand Canal, get our bearings and make sure we were going the right way.  More photos of an area that seemed that it may have been an upper class spot saw us back with the tourists. 

Rio de la Fornace. Nice spot

At this time Jo needed to go to the loo so we walked back look for a restaurant as it was also time to eat. Jo's bladder had led us to Al Gondolieri, where we could sit down and have a break, a feed and a wee. Her bladder had also led us to a Michelin Star restaurant where surprisingly, although things were pretty ritzy, like two hundred plus euro bottle of wine, had cheaper options for the plebs, which we took.

The entrée, chosen by Jo was deep fried zucchini flowers with our mains being half serves of a beef dish for Jo and calves' liver for Shane. We also managed to find a twenty seven euro bottle of Pino Grigio (which surprisingly in Italian is Pinot Grigio), relaxed for an hour and can report that the meal was excellent. Something to chew on besides spaghetti or pizza. The half portions were very generous and tasted delicious. The whole meal was good. Half size aside, lunch still cost one hundred and ten euro. 

Excellent feed at Al Gondolieri

We then kept pushing (literally) towards our apartment, navigating the laneways and bridges until we again arrived at our front door, an hour late for our wine tasting at Vineria all'Amarone. Our only two stops on our return leg was a visit to a Leonardo da Vinci exhibition at Chiesa di San Barnaba which held had a display of the contraptions that Leonardo invented, perfected, stole or otherwise and the Chinese Italian shop where we bought a leather bag for overnight trips. One hundred and ninety nine Euro reduced to one sixty six cash for the bag and a lot less for the Homer Simpson Vitruvian Man tee shirt.

Leonardo's contraptions

As we arrived back at the Flamini joint, Cecilia was getting up from her Nanna nap and the boys were just hanging around the apartment. Jo stayed outside, sniffing around a pending wedding, whilst everyone else mustered for the wine tasting. Flowery decorations adorned the stair rails of the adjacent church and a young bloke in wedding garb was hanging around the front. Something was going on.

Love is in the air

Once arrived at Vineria all'Amarone, we chose to sit outside, five tasting glasses each, half a glass in each. Jo took white wines and the rest of us took Italian regional reds. An interesting experience but after tasting all of the reds for a bit under forty Euro, the wines back at the apartment that cost five to six euro a bottle tasted pretty similar. Soon after, every one retired back to have a rest while Shane picked up some pasta and sauces for dinner and stopped at the bottl'o on the way back.

The owner was upset that we didn't take the better (more expensive) option. Amarone wine

When he arrived back at the apartment, he was surprised that the Nannas were out on the balcony sipping on meloncello rather than having their afternoon ritual, the Nanna nap. The church across the road was hosting a big fat Italian wedding and there was plenty of entertainment (and waiting) to be had. Plenty of music and singing was coming from inside where eventually after all the wedding guests had exited the church, out come the bride and groom. Quite an occasion.

Big fat Italian wedding

Family photo

It was at this point that we thought that we would settle in for the night. Our last night in Venice would be a quiet one. Then all hell broke loose around the corner in Campo Silvestro. We went about our business for a while but the commotion got the better of us. The hard surfaces of the square echoed loudly down the narrow laneways, so much so that we headed over for a look at what was going on. The answer was simple, the local bar, Altrove 360⁰ Bar had a band on. Sort of like an Italian Blues Brothers and they were pretty good. The crowd stood around in a large ring, surrounding the entertainment that was perched up against the wall of the bar. We joined a scant crowd, but it wasn't too long before the word (or racket) had got around and the crowd swelled as darkness approached. Back to the A League Final being played in our home town. Our team, Newcastle Jets were robbed by poor refereeing. An early and blatant offside goal by Melbourne Victory was given the all clear by a linesman who obviously wasn't up to the task. The joke and obvious embarrassment to the FFA was that the VAR wasn't working at the time. Television picked it up okay but not the experts. At the music, across from us was some Melbourne Victory supporters in their jerseys. A bit of friendly banter, acknowledgement from the Victory fans that we were robbed and it was back to the entertainment, complete with Cecilia, Jo and Beau getting on the dance moves.

Great entertainment at Altrove 360⁰ Bar

Strange thing. Out of nowhere came a bunch of youngens and started a tug-o-war. They disappeared as quickly as they came.

We spent the rest of the night in the square, enjoying the music and the antics of the muso's.

When in Venice, do what the Venetians do (or the tourists)

Plenty of entertainment, plenty of beer and no packing for our departure tomorrow as we depart for Florence on one of the fast trains.

[jo-shanevenice18]

Padova

3/05/2018: Today we headed to the town that claims fame to having one of the oldest universities in the world, where according to Stephen Hawking, the sciences of medicine and astronomy began during the sixteenth century.

Heading down to San Silvestre stop this morning, we intended to catch the vaporetto to Venezia San Lucia, have breakfast at the station and board the fast train to Padova, only fifteen or twenty minutes away. We paid for our tickets, looked at the departures board for the platform and hurriedly jumped on the train that was leaving at ten twenty, only a few minutes away. We settled in and immediately noticed that the train was a bit lethargic, confirmed a short time later by the conductor who advised that we were on the wrong train. Apparently the ticket had a train identifier number on it, a bit like a flight number. It was a simple matter of looking at our tickets and the journey number on the information board to get the right train. Because of the rush we had boarded an all stops suburban to Padova which left at the same time as the fast train. Anyhow, we had over an hour to relax and take in the view.

Rialto Bridge

Rialto Markets

It was almost half past eleven when we arrived at Padova Centrale. The first challenge was to negotiate the bus stops at Piazzale Stazione being careful not to be run over. The second was to get Cecilia a “proper” lunch as breakfast back at the station was only pastries and juice.

There were buses and taxis everywhere at the station. A few Euro for a map of the town led us up Corso del Popolo, over the canal system that joins Padova's two rivers, the Brenta and Bacchiglione towards the old city. First challenge negotiated. Immediately to our left was a large riverside park, Giardini dell'Arena, containing Roman amphitheatre ruins, medieval churches and museums. To our right was Corso Giuseppe Garibaldi full of cars, bendy buses and trams.

This is where the second challenge confronted us. Cec and Jo were falling behind, looking at the menus of several restaurants. By the time we had reached the old city walls and Piazza Cavour, Cecilia was ready to sit down, insisting on having a drink at a café.  A bit further on she looked at the menu of Caffè Pedrocchi before giving it a miss and returning to the piazza to settle down at Restorante Pizzeria Otivm, a lunch bar that sold, you guessed it, pizza.

This is where the men and women separated. There was no time so different directions we went, women for food and men to look around, moving through a couple of back streets to stumble across the magnificent medieval building, Palazzo della Ragione dating back to 1218 and now a museum. Until 1797 it was used as city council's assembly hall and palace of justice, hence the name. The palace separated two piazzas, Piazza dei Frutti and Piazza delle Erbe, both joined by Sotto il Salone, the market place beneath the palace containing plenty of Padovan specialties. The markets on both sides were dominated by clothing but the closer to Sotto il Salone they were, the more the smallgoods stalls prevailed. Shane took the opportunity to buy a five Euro hat from a stall holder as he left his other hat back at the apartment and his head was burning.

 Piazza dei Frutti (Fruit Square)

Piazza delle Erbe (Herb Square)

Claiming to be the oldest city in northern Italy, Padova's roots are said to come from a Trojan prince who in 1183 led the Veneti people to the area from a northern region of modern day Turkey although it had existed since 45 BC as Patavium, a Roman municipium. The city suffered a few hundred years later with the invasion of Attila the Hun, followed by a couple of Gothic kings and then the Lombards, who eventually burned the place down with only the Roman amphitheatre and some bridge foundations all that remain today. Over the ensuing years, Padova was ruled both peacefully and violently by several powerful families of the area and it was during this period that the university was founded.

Founded in 1222 but having the reputation of a place of study and research many years prior, the University of Padova's first notary record of this year cemented the organisation as a place of study, Studium Patavinum, scholars and professors arrived from all over Europe to find freedom of culture and expression and a hospitable home for their studies.

Of the many great scholars that lived and taught at the university, one was notably Galileo Galilei who in the first decade on the sixteen hundreds, observed the rings of Saturn, lectured on his observations of his new star and published his short astronomical treatise, Sidereus Nuncius. The treatise described what he observed through his telescope, the first record of telescopic observations of heavenly bodies including stars of the Milky Way, several of Jupiter’s moons and the surface of the Earth’s moon. Others included, Copernicus, Polish mathematician and astronomer who placed Sun at centre of Solar System, Vesalius, who was known as founder of modern human anatomy as well as Casanova, traveller, author and seducer.

With map in hand, we were effectively wandering around aimlessly, identifying the places of interest and heading in that direction. Right next door to the Palazzo della Ragione was another town square with markets so we headed that way. Particular interest was a clock there somewhere. Piazza dei Signori was more enclosed than the others but contained markets similar to the others, so after briefly being interested we focused our attention on the clock and what was beyond.

Clock Tower from via Flume

La Torre dell'Orologio was bounded by a palazzo on each side, Palazzo dei Camerlenghi and Palazzo del Capitanio. Within the tower was a magnificent astronomical clock, both a reminder of the influence of the Carrara family during the city's past. The clock tower was built during the fourteen twenties over the ruins of the east gate of the reggia Carrarese, the family's home. After a year of construction, plans were put into place to accommodate the clock, a replacement of the original built in 1344 and destroyed by the end of the century.

The clock was built with a twenty four hour dial meaning only one revolution a day by the hour hand, starting on the right hand side (00.00hrs) rather than the top, striking the hour mark on a bell. The dial shows which day of the month, current moon phase, the motion of the planets and the position of the sun within the zodiac. An interesting point is that the clock only has eleven signs of the zodiac, apparently a pre-Roman system. The claws of the scorpion are where the scales of Libra should be, both of the brightest stars in the Libra constellation and possessing Arabic names for the Northern Claw (Zubeneschamali) and the Southern Claw (Zubenelgenubi).

La Torre dell'Orologio through the market stalls

Clock face showing the eleven signs of the Zodiac

Walking through the La Torre dell'Orologio into Corte Capitaniato, little was happening so an about face back to the piazza to look for lunch. Just down Corte San Clemente, the Hendrix Bar looked like the go for a break. There were plenty of drinks on offer but not too much food. The place looked okay though and was empty so were ordered the bare minimum. A cocktail, a beer, a café and a croissant.

Time for a rest at the Hendrix Bar

Still resting. Cocktails and beer

Forty five minutes after arriving at Restorante Pizzeria Otivm, and all pizza’d up, Cec and Jo headed for the La Torre dell'Orologio but not before encountering the market stalls selling clothes. The weather was very warm so Cecilia took the opportunity to buy clothing for the warmer temperatures as she had only packed for the cold. By the time they were finished two hours had gone and they hadn’t started what they had gone there for. The history of the town.

Following the break, we looked for the Duomo di Padova, quite close by according to the map. Walking back past the clock tower we entered Via Monte di Pietà, a short street that led us to Piazza Duomo, less than one hundred metres away. The large forecourt introduced us to a simple and rather unimpressive masonry façade given that it is the city's number one catholic church. Built around the eleventh century, the building seems to have survived several setbacks, as did many European buildings over the centuries. The earthquake of 1117 gave it something to think about and the duomo, completed in the late seventeen hundreds and the unfinished grandiose façade, with three portals and a couple of rose windows were sorted out by bombings during World War I. Hence what we see today.

Upon entering the cathedral, one of Padova's two minor Basilicas, we were rather underwhelmed. An unfinished, bland façade introduced us to a large open nave with a blue (looked like linoleum), brown and ivory herringbone type of tile floor throughout. The walls were white. One interesting feature was the white marble flowing theme with figures that furnished the surrounds of the choir and pulpit. At the side was the tomb of Saint Gregorio Barbarigo, his mummified body on display in the glass fronted coffin.

Battistero del Duomo

Interesting interior

San Gregorio Barbarigo Vescovo di-Padova

Upon leaving the church, we met up again as a group and headed towards the next minor Basilica. Returning to the Palazzo della Ragione and continuing on beneath the narrow, covered pathways of vias San Canziano, San Francesco and del Santo, battling oncoming pedestrians whilst trying to manoeuvre the scooters and bicycles obstructing our path, we finally made it to Piazza del Santo, the forecourt to Basilica Pontificia di Sant'Antonio di Padova, the Basilica of Saint Anthony.

It was during the walk that the genders again separated. Cecilia decided that she needed some authentic coffee making gear, stopping on the way to buy an expresso coffee pot, cups and a large tin of ground coffee beans. Jo told her that she could buy this stuff at home but Cec was adamant that she wanted Italian made. The next stop was just looking. They came across a shop that would have had vegans and animal rights activists frothing at the mouth with disgust. Pellicceria Schiaveon sold authentic furs, ranging from hats and stoles to full length coats. Some of the poor things still had their heads attached to the shoulder wraps – Yuk!!

The narrow streets leading to the Basilica

The construction of the Basilica began during the early 1230's and was completed eighty odd years later, although, as with most constructions of the times, alterations went on for centuries. The build started a year after Saint Anthony's death and during its lifetime managed to incorporate the small church of Santa Maria Mater Domini, which was near a convent founded by him in 1229 and was where he chose to be buried. Little remains but what does is represented by Cappella della Madonna Mora (Chapel of the Black Madonna).

Basilica Pontificia di Sant'Antonio di Padova

Entering through the front door and into the nave, we checked out a few bits and pieces around the sides before coming across Saint Anthony's tomb. We then progressed onto the Chapel of the Relics where the religious police were all over us to prevent photos from being taken. Typical Vatican. The Chapel of the Relics held bits and pieces that could have been anything. What was left of poor old Saint Tony after they dug him up, some of John Paul II, and amongst other stuff, Anthony's coffin (must be different to his tomb which was a bit further back).

Saint Anthony must have been an interesting character. Patron saint of practically everything, he was born into money to a Portuguese family some eight hundred odd years ago and seemed to be a bit of gun when it came to preaching and such. This "Hammer of Heretics" and "Professor of Miracles" was a Doctor of the Church due to his contribution to church teachings and it was his preaching prowess and vast knowledge of the scriptures that allowed him to successfully communicate with the heathens. He also bunged on a few miracles like healing the sick and raising the dead as well as some sort of stunt including fish. No wonder he was the second quickest canonised saint of the times. Furthermore, thirty years after his death he was dug up for some reason and surprise, surprise, his body had disintegrated. The only thing left, apart from bone, one would imagine, was his tongue, vocal cords and a few more bits which are on display within the Basilica.

Anyway, even with the security watching and yelling "no photo, no photo" continuously in an attempt to intimidate everyone, we still managed a few sneaky pics.

Saint Anthony's Tomb

Chapel of the Relics

A bit of Saint Anthony

Made to feel unwelcome at the relics, we headed out through a side door to the Magnolia Cloister and further on to the Cloister of the Blessed Luke, the dude who carried on Anthony's work after his demise and was more than likely responsible for this magnificent building. It was here that we encountered a weird statue created by Anthony Quinn's son of Saint Anthony stopping baby Jesus from floating away.

St Anthony and the Baby Jesus (Lorenzo Quinn), child throwing champion of his day

We were just about finished but needed to find a toilet before we left. Passing one on the way out was a relief except for the turnstile at the door requiring a Euro to spin. What a load of crap, a Euro for a piss. Looking out for each other and the monk patrolling the corridor, we managed to jump the turnstile without being noticed and relieved ourselves for free. What a relief, in more ways than one. Once together again we headed for the exit, passed the Hall of Confessions (without stopping) and looked for the women whom after only having enough time for a quick look inside and to browse around the religious paraphernalia stalls that surrounded the place. Jo bought her first purchase of the day, two candles with a Saint Anthony emblem and a bottle of holy water.

By two thirty we had had enough and started the long slow walk back to Padova Centrale via Pedavena Birreria and Pizzeria. By four we were back on the train, heading back to Venice and stocking up with a few drinks, cheese, meat and pasta for the night ahead. By five thirty we were sitting down at one of the locals and downing an extra large beer. Ristorazione Sant'Aponal to be exact in Campo San Asponal and across from you guessed it, the long since deconsecrated, Chiesa di Sant'Aponal.

He'll end up as fat as his father with too many of those

Then it was back to the to our apartment, the Flamini residence, for a game of Pass the Pigs and an early one. After an interesting but again too short a day in Padova we settled down for the night.

End of the day

Tomorrow is our second last day and one to spend around Venice. 

[jo-shanevenice18]

The Islands of Glass and Lace

2/05/2018: Murano and Burano were on the to do list today. We caught the vaporetto to Ca' D' Oro stop and walked through the streets to the Fondamente Nove ferry wharf on the lagoon side. This is where we jumped on the next boat to the islands.

Ready to go out for the day

Our apartment. Third floor

Heading towards Ca' D' Oro

Passing Cemetery Island, our first stop was Murano where as per the last time we visited, we disembarked next to the limestone lighthouse and walked through the streets to look in the shops. Nothing changes, extremely expensive so we kept going, soon after reaching the Rio dei Vetrai, and looking around a bit more with the intention of having lunch. Cecilia had some luck in picking up several items of Murano souvenirs for the folk back home.

 Venetian ship building. Still going strong

Bricks and mortar succumbing to the lagoon

 Rio dei Vetrai from Ponte de Mezo

Smart looking Poliziotti

Jo and Cecilia found a small restaurant on a corner and on the water so they parked their arses on the seats outside Ristorante Dalla Mora waiting for service, duly joined by the Pratten men. After a period of patience, we were seen to by a couple of waiters that were in no hurry to overdo it with the service. Typical Italian tucker with a few beers, except that Shane had eel for the first time. Quickly christened Eric, he was found to be okay for taste, but nothing like back home, and full of bones. Still, washed down by a couple of Birra Moretti la Rossas, Eric went down nicely, with a shocked look on his face.

Ristorante Dalla Mora

What's left of Eric the Eel

After lunch we headed back to the vaporetto stop with the intention of heading to Burano. We ended up in the shop where we bought some glassware last time and bought a carafe and six fancy drinking glasses. Two hundred and fifty euro delivered home. As we were walking out Shane took a liking to a square plate. Another two hundred and fifty euro. That eight hundred dollars went quick.

What we chose

Off to Burano, finally. This island was a fair bit further out and was famous for its colourful houses and high quality lace. As with Murano, the place suffered from shop owners trying to protect their product from cheap Chinese stuff. The last guy at Murano showed us a stamp on his products to identify the glass as genuine as well as holding it up to the light and highlighting the silver flecks within the glass. Identifying genuine lace may have been more difficult but all in all Burano didn't have a great deal to offer. Jo did manage to find a lace pillow for the wedding rings to be carried on by Ari, the page boy at Eve and Jamie's up and coming wedding. Otherwise, it was fairly benign so being late in the day we headed back to the pontoon for the trip back.

Faro dell'Isola di Murano

Burano Service Station

 Typical Burano canal

The leaning campanile from Terranova sestiere

The last boat was about six thirty so we grabbed a table at the nearby restaurant for a quick feed and beer while waiting for the five thirty return journey. At one point we didn't think we would get on as there were heaps of people waiting but out of the blue came a ferry much larger than we were used to. They must have known the amount of people trying to get off the island so sent a big one.

Resting up at Capolinea Fritto Misto

Burano backstreet

The boat went around the islands on a sizable round trip, eventually passing the townships along the Cavallino-Treporti peninsula which separated the lagoon from the Adriatic Sea. Further along at the Lido lagoon inlet, the MOSE tidal mitigation project was still under construction. Commencing fifteen years ago, the project is designed to control the large tidal surges that occasionally flood Venice. Costing many billions of dollars, it works by using large baffles that work as flood gates. The baffles are hollow and filled with water when submerged. When the tide rises to a pre-determined level, compressed air is forced into the baffles, forcing the water out and they pivot on hinges towards the surface, thereby creating a barrier to the tides. It should be finished by the end of 2019.

Bit of a diagram from the internet

Lido floodgates

One of the many cruise ships in the lagoon delivering some of the tens of thousands of tourists that visit each day

Disembarking back at Fondamente Nove ferry wharf, we walked around the waterfront to Piazza San Marco but were soon overcome by tourists. The crowd, along with us being worn out, had us ready for home. We still pushed around for a look before heading to the San Marco vaporetto stop that took us back to the apartment. From there we reassembled just around the corner in Riva del Vin for dinner at La Porta d'Acqua.

Spanning the Rio di Palazzo, the Bridge of Sighs connected the New Prison to the interrogation rooms in the Doge's Palace

 The palazzo that we stayed in last time

Dinner at La Porta d'Acqua

After dinner we headed back to the apartment for dominos and bed.

Church over the street from our apartment

Tomorrow Padova