Kevnjan's big adventure.

Fri. 13th. Apr. Took our time this morning over breakfast, planned to look over the cathedral and the Palazzo di Raggione. The moment we stepped out of the van the first spot of rain fell. We were dressed for it and took out umbrellas. The walk through the streets of Padova is very pleasant, even in the rain for the most part. Most of the footways are under loggia and sheltered from the bad weather. We visited the Palazzo, a large 12th century building, used as a courthouse and for administrative purposes for hundreds of years, it has a vast floorspace and is used for large gatherings and corporate events. On this day it was full of people wearing nametags and listening to interminable speeches. They love their speeches, the Italians, take them very seriously. This spoiled our enjoyment of this unique building, the walls are covered in frescoes from the 1300s on, by many of the great artists and the main feature is an enormous carved black wooden horse, by Giotto. We enjoyed the markets in the squares either side of the palazzo and got progressively wetter. Took a quick look at the cathedral, which was a bit of a disappointment after St. Anthony's and headed back to the van. The bad weather got the best of us and we headed for Vicenzo. Will look back on our visit to Padova with affection.