DAY 1

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Today we met our guide, Cristina, and 25 fellow travelers. (Another plus of a Rick Steves tour is that it's never over 28 people.) Right away I could tell this was going to be a fabulous group. We spent two nights at the Art Hotel Fagiano which was full of interesting art made by the owner. 

 

We met at 5pm in the hotel and Cristina went over some general rules. She then gave us an orientation of her home town. How cool is it that our guide lives in the city we start our tour in! We ended the evening with pasta, wine and lots of fun getting to know everyone.​

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DAY 2

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After breakfast (which is included in the tour at every hotel) we walked to the Eremitani Church. Cristina's family attended this church during WW2 and they helped rebuild it after it was bombed. We then went to the Scrovegni Chapel, commissioned by the son of a banker to atone for his father's sins. It is filled with massive and beautiful frescoes. Take a look at the picture at the top to get a small sample of the grandeur. Padua University, founded in 1222, was next. Here we saw the first anatomy lab and learned about Elena Cornaro, the first woman to graduate from here.

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The rest of the day was ours! Rick Steves tours always have built-in time for independent adventuring. We strolled around town and walked through the University's Botanical gardens and St. Anthony's Basilica. A sudden rainstorm had us scrambling for shelter. Luckily it was time for dinner so we popped into a cute little place for beer and pizza.

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Buona notte, good night, from Padua.

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