Padova

Our first day trip with Jackson was a success. We drove to Padova, which is about a half hour past Venice for us.

Chris and I were there over a year ago with our friend Rebecca. We thought it would be a great place to take Chris' parents.

Padova is a great day trip, because it has some fantastic sights and the city is very compact and walkable.

We started out at the Basilica of St. Anthony, who is one of the most famous saints in the Catholic Church (and probably the reason why there are so many Tonys out there). The church is a must-see, and has an important Donatello bronze statue out front in the piazza.

We walked up to Piazza Erbe where there was a market going on. We had a quick lunch, and then made it up to the Scrovegni Chapel, where we had a reservation to view the famous Giotto frescoes.

This was a really interesting process. We made reservations online to view the frescoes, and then we had to be at the museum one hour ahead of time to pick up our tickets. We then had to be outside the Chapel five minutes before our scheduled time, because the doors are automatic and will shut you out if you are not there on time.

Then, you wait and watch a quick movie about the frescoes while the room checks the humidity levels. You then get to walk into the Chapel, and have exactly fifteen minutes to view the gorgeous frescoes (about the lives of Joachim, Mary, and Jesus).

My favorite part was actually the ceiling, which was still a vibrant blue with stars. Incredible! The history is really fascinating, too. The Chapel was built by a man named Scrovegni who was basically trying to purchase salvation for his father who was a notorious usurer and was immortalized in Dante's Inferno.

We saw some other great sights, and then drove back home!

Here is our exhausted day tripper: