We needed to check out of our rooms at 10:00, but our train was not set to leave until 10:45. The timing here gave us something very unusual, almost unheard of on this trip. Free time. That ever elusive thing, free time is a close cousin of sleeping in, which is also rare on our European adventures. But as we did not want to hike again, and the stores were not yet open, there was not much for us to do in the morning.
We planned to sleep in a bit and have a slower start. Meeting around 9 we bought some sweet rolls at a local bakery and cappuccinos near the harbor. We found a bench in the harbor and looked at the ocean while we finished our breakfast. We took a quick trip back through town and bought some food at the local Coop grocery store. With a 6 hour train ride ahead of us we did not want to go without food on the train. After that, with a few moments until our train departed, we took a short walk through the upper end of town.
One of the things Michelle has noticed on this trip is the friendliness of all of the people we encountered. We try to live as locals whenever we travel, and that includes learning basic phrases in the local language and trying local foods. But in this trip, these small things have yielded some wonderfully tender moments. Like the older woman walking into town as we were walking out of town with her wildflowers in hand. As we passed and said good morning in Italian she smiled and said an effusive good morning back to us. Joyous connections like this just warm a travelers soul.
With the train quickly approaching we grabbed our bags and headed towards the train station. We were all hoping that the train rides on our way out of town would be better than the train rides into Vernazza! We did have 4 changes that we needed to make, but with Tim's planning we knew when each would arrive, when each would leave and what platforms we needed to move to in order to catch each leg. If we made all of the trains we would be in Padova by 4:00 and meeting up with Nicola, a friend of Tim and Michelle's.
Thankfully the train rides were largely uneventful and we made each connection easily. There was one leg where we stopped on the tracks due to an "electrical failure". Which induced a moment of slight panic as who knows what the failure was for and how long it would take to fix. Thankfully the delay was only about 10 minutes, and we had a 30 minute buffer at that station.
When we arrived in Padova Nicola was there to meet us and took us on a grand tour of the city center. We commented to Nicola that it was warmer than we were anticipating, to which he informed us that the entire country was under a heat wave during the week we were there. Which made sense, because we were envisioning 70 degree weather based on historical averages, but were experiencing mid to high 80s each day.
The first part of the tour started at the Abbey of Santa Giustina, which is one of the biggest churches in Italy. As we were not planning to enter a church we were wearing our traveling clothes. That meant that Christyn was not wearing appropriate clothing. Thankfully the church provided cover ups. She wrapped one around her waist, looking quite stylish mind you, and rolled along through the church.
We learned that the church is the resting place of the apostle Luke. Here, in this church rested some of the remains of a man who walked with Jesus. Take that one in for a moment. It's a heavy thought.
The church also sits in front of the second biggest square in the world. While we were there a carnival was in town, so the space was full of rides, cotton candy and lots of kids. :) There was an interesting juxtaposition between the interior significance of the church to the exterior activities on the square.
The heat of the day was getting to us already, so a stop was made for a quick gelato. The shop had banana gelato, and we all seemed to end up with the flavor as one of our scoops. Nicola informed us that banana is not a traditional gelato flavor, but it was tasty nonetheless.
The tour continued down the Main Street, which was recently closed to pedestrians. The only people allowed to drive on the roads are those who live on the street, and they had to drive very slowly as the street can be congested by shoppers, especially on the weekend.
We also saw the fruit and vegetable market, the astrological clock in one of the city squares, and the University of Padova. The University of Padova was the first university in Italy. Nicola and his wife Arielle (the friends we would spend the next two days with) met at the University, so the buildings we saw were special places for them.
For our final stop we entered the Saint Antonio church. It was a delight, for the look of the church as well as the people in it. On prior trips when we have attended mass we have lamented on the lack of worshippers there. In this service it was nearly packed, and not with tourists trying to find a place to simply rest their feet. This church also housed a number of holy relics and had a brochure with a self guided tour to help you understand it all.
While on the tour Nicola received a call from Ariella asking where we were. Apparently Nicola had said he was giving us a quick tour, but it was taking longer than planned and she had prepared dinner for us. Two years ago Tim and Michelle were with their friends the Smith's in Venice and had been invited for dinner at Nicola and Ariella's house. It was the most amazing meal with multiple courses. We put some pep in our step and hustled back to the car.
At the house we were introduced to Ambrey and Carlos Alberto, Nicola and Ariella's two children. They were learning English as a second language in their school, but were a bit shy in talking to us. They could, however, understand most of what we were saying. Since Susanne and Christyn know sign language, it was helpful to use signs to explain various concepts and ideas.
Ariella took us on a tour of the house, which had a huge remodel over the last few years. Almost every inch of the house had been renovated. The kitchen was also moved to a different area on the main floor and a pool was added in the back yard. The renovations were all so beautiful. One of our favorites was a metal bookshelf with a latch hidden inside a book, which allowed the bookshelf to pivot on the wall and revealed stairs down to the laundry room, basement and sauna room. It was unexpected and ingenious.
The pool was a feature we used quickly, as we were told there was enough time before dinner to take a quick swim. Nicola had instructed us to bring our swimsuits, and after a hot day and a long walk the cool water felt refreshing. The kids were already in the pool, and before long we were all engaged in a serious game of "keep away". Carlos Alberto was the funniest as he would always pass to his sister and when he was in the middle he would ride on Nicolas shoulders in order to have a higher reach. The sun was going down and it was soon time to clean up and get ready for dinner.
Tim and Michelle were in the downstairs room behind the hidden bookcase entrance. Susanne and Christyn were in an upstairs bedroom. The bathrooms in the house were all remodeled with the coolest showers. The shower head was square and dropped from the ceiling versus a wall. The walls were covered in a stack stone material on two sides and a glass panel on another side. Then in the place you would expect to see a door there was none. It was completely open to the room. The floor was a solid piece of stone with drainage holes cut out in a square shape. The whole floor slanted slightly towards the drain hole so that no water escaped from the open side. It was amazing. Michelle told Tim that he should have moved forward with a bathroom remodel at our house before this trip because now she has lots of new and expensive ideas. :)
Once we all freshened up we were happy to see that Nicola's aunt Christine and uncle Daniello had arrived for dinner. Tim and Michelle were excited as on an earlier trip to Venice Nicola and Ariella hosted Tim, Michelle and their friends the Smiths for dinner. At that dinner Christine and Daniello also came, and it was a delightful meal and conversation, made all the more interesting as neither Christine nor Daniello spoke much English. Tim and Michelle were very much looking forward to reconnecting.
Daniello quickly asked what kind of gelato we wanted for dessert. To which we responded banana! You should have seen Daniello's face. He quickly scrunched it up and said "banana? Bagh!" He and Carlos Alberto left quickly after that to go grab the dessert.
Christine and Ariella are both excellent cooks, so we were all in for a treat. We started with the first course, which consisted of two different kinds of pasta, a bow tie pasta with tomatoes, olives and mozzarella cheese and a trofoili pasta with pesto sauce on it. Both were delicious and could have been full meals in and of themselves. We all went back for seconds.
The second course was a green salad with an olive oil/salt/pepper dressing and sliced roast beef with au jus sauce. Both were delicious. Most of us went back for seconds.
Finally was dessert, the infamous gelato. Ariella also brought out some sliced strawberries and banana. And to everyone's surprise, one of the flavors of gelato that Daniello purchased was banana. :)
Wonderful conversation ensued and we all stayed up way too late. The Hardley's were surprised to see that Daniello and Christine had been practicing their English in the years since our last visit. With the help of our trusty Google Translate app we were able to navigate conversations quite easily. There are some benefits to modern technology.
Tomorrow we are set to travel for one quick day in Venice then dinner again with Nicola and Ariella before we are off to Switzerland the following day. Ciao!
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