The exhaustion has gotten to us and after a few hours of walking around Bologna we were ready to move on to the next place, Padova.
Padova is a small town (think Rockhampton) about 30 mins from Venice. We chose it as accommodation was cheaper and more available in Padova than Venice.
Wondering Around Bologna
We had several hours between checking out of the apartment and our train. So we decided to walk around the student-city of Bologna, taking in the sights and smells.
The main city square is very interesting, with gothic-style buildings. There were lots of markets and food stores, packing people into the tiny lanes which gave the city a certain lively feel.
We wondered around for what seemed like eternity until we developed enough hunger for some Bolognese food. We stopped at a bistro and had a lasagne and parmigiana, with Aperol Spritz, of course!
After lunch we roamed around some more, eventually getting some gelato and then finally making our way to the train.
Venice in Bad Weather
Apparently what we experienced is not typical of Venice. There were wind gusts up to 45km/hr, it was raining heavily and it felt like negative 1 degrees. We think Chris’s impression of a giant lemon says it all.
While at some points we were so cold we thought we might die, we had a lot of laughs. Immediately after getting off the train, we had realised just how bad the weather was and quickly bought ourselves matching “I love Venizia” ponchos.
We also learnt that next time we will be packing boots, as our joggers were soaked through within minutes.
While Venice looked beautiful with the composition of old buildings, canals, bridges, and gondolas, it was difficult to appreciate it when the weather was so bad. We did our best to venture out and explore all that Venice had, but we eventually had to call it short.
There was a line up at the Galleria D’ell Academia, which we decided not to participate in. We came across several beautiful squares, their beauty hindered only by the umbrella-destroying winds.
We did however spend enough time to browse a couple of merchant stores, warm ourselves with coffee at a bar, and enjoy a beautiful pasta lunch. Chantal had gnocchi with nettle butter and Chris had Carbonara, both of us tried Bellinis for the first time.
Padova
After getting back to the hotel and drying off, we decided to walk around Padova for a much as we could handle the bad weather. We wondered into an Eastern European supermarket which was a surreal experience.
For dinner, we found a “local” bar which served food. There, Chris had a lasagne while Chantal enjoyed a seafood spaghetti dish. It was enjoyable as it felt like a truly authentic place.
Chris and Chantal 