Padova, Venice, and Verona (Day 1)

(I know I am so behind on my blog, but will catch up tonight!)

Inside Padova University

The long-awaited trip to Venice, Verona, and Padova had finally arrived! Our home base for last weekend was in Padova, and it was the first time API decided to bring students to this town. It was definitely a good decision, and we made sure to let them know how much we enjoyed it. '

St. Anthony's Balisica

Upon arrival, we went on a guided walking tour, learning about Padova University, which was built in 1222 and we saw the statue of the first female to graduate. We also went in the Basilica di Sant'Antonio da Padova, seeing the bones of St. Anthony in the chapel. This was the fist day that anyone was allowed in the chapel because of the earthquake that hit on May 20th and again on the 29th. The chapel was under construction, but fortunately will be able to be restored. I almost wasn't allowed in the basilica because I was in shorts, and you aren't allowed to have knees or shoulders exposed when going in churches. We had to take my sweater off, wrap it around my legs, button it back up, and tie a scarf around my shoulders. And somehow, I still was the only one out of our whole group to still get in trouble, when there were multiple girls in dresses. It was definitely worth it though, the basilica was the most beautiful and sacred place. Afterwards, I stopped at a vendor outside and got some St. Anthony charms to help me not lose anything while I'm here especially.

After the tour, we were starving, so we asked an Italian what his favorite restaurant was in the area. Speaking no English, he had a hard time understanding the question and kept pointing at the pizzeria next to us, so we gave it a try and it was awesome!

Castello di S. Palagio

That afternoon, we took a bus with API to Castello di S. Palagio, a castle built in the XIV century on the remains of a military fortress which now hosts the Flight Museum. We got to see all of the rooms of this building, learning about the history of flight from back in the day, which was especially interesting because of the Wright Brothers and North Carolina being 'First in Flight'. We had a picnic in the historical garden and terrace consisting of fruit juice (kiwi-apple was my favorite), ricotta cake, and light cookies. We navigated our way through Labirinto del Minotauro (a large maze) where we spent much time trying to find our way to the other end, where multiple long mirrors awaited us (see picture). We then made one of the best decisions, to lay in the field, and just be...taking in the beautiful land and sky around us, and the people we get to share it with.

 A few hours later, API organized a wonderful 3 course dinner for our program at the hotel which was delicious. We had Ravioli di magro con erbette e Asiago, Scaloppine al Prosecco de Valdobbiadene, and Tiramisu. Looking around the room, there were still so many API students that I had never seen before. With 80 of us in this session, sadly there's not enough time to meet everyone, because we only see those in our classes and a group that we organize our evenings with.

After our dinner at the hotel, we found a fun art cafe in the main square of Padova. The square, which holds the market during the day, turns into outdoor seating for all of the surrounding restaurants at night. I don't know how they manage keeping their tables separated because there are hundreds of people sitting in the area, making for a very lively scene. Padova is the ideal Italian town, it would be a wonderful place to study in for a semester, with 65,000 students at the university there.

Ciao,
Tarra