The first day of our cruise was still in Venice. Since we had already seen what we wanted to see, we had booked a trip to Padua.
I got this lovely reflection in a river on the way to Padua.
We were dropped off at this lovely park, the Prato Della Valle, with a water moat around it. More reflections. I loved the architecture in Padua so there will be lots of buildings in this post. There are a number of statues of famous people (some not so famous) from Padua or who were associated with Padua. I thought it was circular but it is oval and it is called the square in the center of town.
Paths criss-cross the center garden.
Obligatory pigeon content.
From the park we walked to the Basilica of St. Anthony.
Another gorgeous reflection on the way.
That is the Basilica. Our first view of it. There is a better picture to follow from the other side.
This is the St. Anthony to whom Catholics pray when they can't find something. It is a very large Basilica. I didn't take photos inside as it was both dark and prohibited. The altar of the church is by Donatello. Yes, I know he was a Ninja Turtle. But he was a famous Italian sculptor before that.
The entrance.
This is a statue of General Gattamelata, by Donatello. It is in the square outside the Basilica. It was one of the first life-size statues cast in bronze.
This is the 'better' photo of the Basilica. As you can see, the light wasn't in the right place so I got one of my photos with the sun's glow behind the object. No solar flare as it was a cloudy day. But it gives you the idea of how big the Basilica is. After visiting the church, we walked to the market. I took this even though the light wasn't great, to show how narrow the streets are.
The market is outside. The building is used for meetings.
I was intrigued by the ceiling in the first floor gallery and tried to go up but was stopped and asked which group I was with and where my pass was. So this is all one can see.
The ground (first) floor of the building has stalls but I didn't go inside. I was peeved at not being allowed up just to look at the ceiling!
This is the entrance to one of the city government buildings. When you look inside the archway, this is what you see.
Our meeting point was outside the city government building so we hung out there for a few minutes. A mime was having fun. He'd move when people around him weren't looking but freeze when they looked at him.
Looking around at buildings in the area.
Just behind the mime is the Cafe Pedrocchi. It is where revolutionary Paduans met to plot overthrowing the monarchy. There are three rooms - a red room, a white room, and a green room. The green room is where you can sit for free so the waiters don't bother even noticing you are there. The other rooms are where you sit if you want to order. Because of its historic significance, it is open to the public. You can walk through it at any time. I did but felt odd taking photos so I didn't.
That building covered up by fabric and scaffolding on the right is the cafe. Local police in front of the cafe made a change to having just the buildings in the photo.
It wasn't a very long trip because we were sailing mid-afternoon. One of the things that annoys me about cruises is that while they say that they will leave you behind if you are not on board by a specified time, they end up waiting for tardy people. That happened that afternoon. We waited for a couple who had gone into Venice. sigh
I got this lovely reflection in a river on the way to Padua.
We were dropped off at this lovely park, the Prato Della Valle, with a water moat around it. More reflections. I loved the architecture in Padua so there will be lots of buildings in this post. There are a number of statues of famous people (some not so famous) from Padua or who were associated with Padua. I thought it was circular but it is oval and it is called the square in the center of town.
Paths criss-cross the center garden.
Obligatory pigeon content.
From the park we walked to the Basilica of St. Anthony.
Another gorgeous reflection on the way.
That is the Basilica. Our first view of it. There is a better picture to follow from the other side.
This is the St. Anthony to whom Catholics pray when they can't find something. It is a very large Basilica. I didn't take photos inside as it was both dark and prohibited. The altar of the church is by Donatello. Yes, I know he was a Ninja Turtle. But he was a famous Italian sculptor before that.
This is a statue of General Gattamelata, by Donatello. It is in the square outside the Basilica. It was one of the first life-size statues cast in bronze.
This is the 'better' photo of the Basilica. As you can see, the light wasn't in the right place so I got one of my photos with the sun's glow behind the object. No solar flare as it was a cloudy day. But it gives you the idea of how big the Basilica is. After visiting the church, we walked to the market. I took this even though the light wasn't great, to show how narrow the streets are.
The market is outside. The building is used for meetings.
I was intrigued by the ceiling in the first floor gallery and tried to go up but was stopped and asked which group I was with and where my pass was. So this is all one can see.
The ground (first) floor of the building has stalls but I didn't go inside. I was peeved at not being allowed up just to look at the ceiling!
This is the entrance to one of the city government buildings. When you look inside the archway, this is what you see.
Our meeting point was outside the city government building so we hung out there for a few minutes. A mime was having fun. He'd move when people around him weren't looking but freeze when they looked at him.
Looking around at buildings in the area.
Just behind the mime is the Cafe Pedrocchi. It is where revolutionary Paduans met to plot overthrowing the monarchy. There are three rooms - a red room, a white room, and a green room. The green room is where you can sit for free so the waiters don't bother even noticing you are there. The other rooms are where you sit if you want to order. Because of its historic significance, it is open to the public. You can walk through it at any time. I did but felt odd taking photos so I didn't.
That building covered up by fabric and scaffolding on the right is the cafe. Local police in front of the cafe made a change to having just the buildings in the photo.
It wasn't a very long trip because we were sailing mid-afternoon. One of the things that annoys me about cruises is that while they say that they will leave you behind if you are not on board by a specified time, they end up waiting for tardy people. That happened that afternoon. We waited for a couple who had gone into Venice. sigh
As a result, I didn't have my camera with me when the ship sailed. I was walking around exploring the ship and noticed we were moving. So I ran up to the top deck and enjoyed the cruise through the laguna and seeing St. Mark's Square, San Giorgio Maggiore and other sights from the perspective of the laguna. But no photos.
The ship was escorted by a tug that was secured to the ship by cables. One of the other passengers said this was to increase employment because usually, when the ship sailed, the pilot was onboard and all we had was the small pilot boat next to us to take him off.
I love watching how the ship operates. I hang out of the balcony watching how the lifeboats operate, how the shore crew act when the ship is leaving. They hang around doing nothing, chatting with each other for a long time. Then suddenly they uncoil the ropes that connect the ship to the dock, get in their vehicle(s) and drive off. I can't see whether the ship's crew signal them by hand or whether it is by phone or radio. I can't see what the ship's crew are doing at all.
I also try to watch the pilot get off. The pilot boat comes very close to the ship (it is tiny compared to the ship so it is interesting how close it gets), and then the pilot and another person (usually) jump from a door on the cruise ship onto the deck of the pilot boat. Then the boat zips off.
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