Wet and Stormy in Padova

Not very much good can be said about today's weather in Padua. After yesterday's wet welcome the rain continued and during the night we had a huge thunder, lightning and rain storm. Today had dry patches, some heavy rain and a maximum temperature of 16 degrees. Not at all travelling weather.

Between rain this morning we made a trip to the PAM supermarket for some food items then later we walked along the colonaded footpaths in our immediate area to get our bearings i.e. check out where the bakeries, coffee stops, wine sales and other important places are. Our neighbourhood is very much self sufficient with all the essentials, as well as a man making hand made shoes, a dry cleaners, art studios, a music shop, offices and more.

We have certainly seen why the colonaded footpaths are a trademark of this part of northern Italy. With so much rain they are pretty much essential.

The Giro d'Italia cycling race is finishing in Padova on the 23rd and the city is beginning to turn pink (the colour of the Giro). Alas we will be gone by then.

The cake shop display included pink meringues, and the tram had a pink livery.

A statue of Vittorio Emanuele II - Liberator stands in a beautiful treed location    and close by is the Sanctuary of San Leopoldo Mandić, both of which have excellent statues but of very different styles.

Most of the afternoon was spent trying to get reception on the tv to watch the Giro, and doing crosswords or sudokus. A break in the radar pattern sent us out to find the Porta Santa Croce, one of the 16th century access gates in the defensive wall. This gate is still locked every night .

We continued on to Prato della Valle, the main piazza in Padua, but again a piazza with a difference. This eliptical area of 90,000 square metres has been a public space since the 1600s. It has an island, canals and many statues. Despite the ever increasing showers we did manage to get a few photos.

We hurried home along the colonades before a detour for a bottle of wine found us stranded by a heavy downpour. Cancel that idea!

We have a fresh pasta shop very close by our casa and Kel went in to buy pasta and came out with a large serve of ready made vegetable lasagne. We have just finished eating it and it was divine.

Still the stormy weather continues. Our plan for tomorrow was to go to Vicenza on the train however this morning they had a code red alert for flooding and had had 61 mm of rain yesterday. It can only have got worse today so we are not going.

We have to do what we missed doing today ... hope the rain stops soon.