Padua, Ravenna, and Florence

Who thought we'd post this soon? Eh?? Huh?? Eh??? With the smallness of the towns we've been through, we spent all our time waltzing around, seeing pretty much everything, and taking our time, relaxing, and not going on the internet. Sue us (after the trip, if you please!)

August 4th - We were in Padua, to see both the Scrovegni Chapel, and to celebrate our 2nd anniversary (yes, it really has been that long). The Chapel was simply indescribable - you have to sit in a climate controlled room for about 15 minutes or so, while they show a film, to allow them to cleanse the air and get the humidity and temperature all set straight. Then you go in, only for 15 minutes, and just look at ... well, Giotto's masterpiece. Kelly and I were lucky, as our reserved time had only ourselves in the group - so we got to see the whole thing on our own (and, of course, the ubiquitous museum guard). The rest of the day was just walking around and seeing a wonderfully beautiful city, being exposed to remarkable hospitality (and few English speakers), and having quite the respite from the tourist trap that was Venice. The dinner we had that evening was simply masterful, with crab and lobster pasta, and seared tuna done to perfection, a selection of smoked fish, and tiramisu and marscapone for dessert - decadent (but we deserve it, right???).

August 5th - More Padua, saw the Duomo, the old university (founded in 1222, their first wholly owned building dates back to the 15th century) - they boast graduating the first woman from a university, a feat that wasn't repeated for a century. We also saw a huge plaza, the Piazza Prato Della Valle, which was just beautiful, and then St. Anthony'sBasilica. That evening we packed up our stuff for the commute to Ravenna. Our arrival seemed odd - everyone seemed to know where the hostel was!! I think there's just the one...

August 6th-8th - Ravenna was likely one of the smaller towns we saw, but with such a history, I think we saw more there than we saw in Padua and Venice combined - and I've only shared the highlights!! (Giving you a laundry list would not only be boring, but pointless, no?) This was a cute city, very small, a little sleepy almost, but the mosaics in San Vitale and in the other monuments are worth the trip alone. Not much special to say here except it was quiet, relaxing, we slept tonnes, and we saw fabulous, wonderful, sparkling, remarkable mosaics (from about the 6th century) as well as some Roman ones like Galla Placidia. Oodles of them!! Then, off to Firenze in the evening.

August 8th-10th - While we came specifically to see the Accademia (housing Michaelangelo's David) and the Uffizzi (the best Renaissance gallery in the known universe), we didn't actually see them until today! We have been walking around, seeing the Duomo, Santa Croce, napping in parks, the view from the campsite (we're up by the Piazza Michaelangelo, which is up a hill overlooking the city across the river, STUNNING views), Pallazzo and Ponte Vecchio, the Baptistry of San Giovanni. The city is very touristy, everything costs money, but when we got into the Accademia this morning and I saw the 5+ meter tall marble statue that is Michaelangelo's David, it all seemed worth it... the thing is fricken HUGE. Beyond huge, it's ... it's ... gargantuan!!

Anyway, tomorrow we're off to Cinque Terre for a 4 day "do nothing" trek on the beach. So don't expect much in the way of updates (of course, there won't be much to say!!)

Thanks for keeping up, even if we've been intermittant. Oh, I have about 27 seconds left... eep!! Talk to you all later!!

Kelly and Chuck