Our Last Day to Travel

Today, Natalie and I were off again on a day trip across north east Italy with 4 cities in mind that we had to check off our list: Padova, Vicenza, Castelfranco, and Bassano. Any other towns we found along the way were a bonus but we knew we had to get those finished before our trip was over. Getting up this morning was hard...my feet still hurt just to walk so I wasn't thinking this trip around Veneto was going to turn out so well. And, of course, today was the hottest day it has been all summer...104 degrees! It was just too much for our bodies to handle. Every time we got out of the car, it was hell to walk around and not feel like you were going to pass out. I was sweating from head to toe and could not stop drinking water all day. If these cities weren't some of the most beautiful cities in Veneto, then I wouldn't have gone but we had to go and finish what we started. We went to the market first thing this morning because we wanted a custard fruit tart one last time for a day trip. They are so delicious, I could eat a dozen a day! After getting lost somewhere near Treviso for a good hour trying to find Bassano, I decided that we should head to Castelfranco and then go to Bassano from there. We went through Castelfranco quickly but we saw the walls of the city center and went through the other side. Next was Bassano, one of my favorite cities in all of my cities I have been to here. It a nice, cozy town on the river and is famous for the bridge, Ponte degli Alpini. I love all the shops there because Bassano is also famous for their grappa liquor and for their ceramic crafts. Natalie and I found gifts for our family here as thank you presents. It was so hard to not buy things that we wanted but we knew there was no way we could pack anything big or really breakable with us. After spending a few hours in Bassano, we were off to Vicenza! On the way there through the back roads, we found a city called Marostica. In the town, there is a castle that begins in the city center and has multiple castle walls going up a huge hill in the back of the town. It was just too amazing to drive by it and not stop! We drove right through the main castle walls and into a flea market in the square. Natalie and I kept thinking of things we would buy if we had a house here. We decided all of our houses would be decorated in things only from flea markets because it had the best stuff for designing a house in Italy! Lanterns, old pictures, glass chandeliers...you name it, they had it here! The castle has steps that lead all the way up to the top but we were not about to do that today, not with this heat! We found back road while we were leaving town that went all the way up to the top of the castle! It was a great view from the top and we were happy that we came across this town. I read online tonight that Marostica is well known for its human chess game every two years in the main square. People come from all over Italy to see the game take place. We were finally on our way to Vicenza but we were getting really tired at this point and a little delirious. We stopped around the city center and walked around for about 40 minutes but then decided it was time to go. Padova had to be done today and it was already 6:00. I wasn't too thrilled with Vicenza but then again, we didn't really give it much chance to wow us either. We arrived in Padova and went straight to the three places that I wanted Natalie to see the most: Basilica of St. Antonio, Basillica of St. Augusto, and the Prato della Valle. All I had seen before on my day trip by myself but I wanted Natalie to at least see those main sights before we left. We stopped for dinner at a kebab/pizza place and I had the best kebab! I think I could eat one everyday! We thought we would head home but we had to make one last stop in Padova...IKEA!!! I saw it off the highway and we couldn't resist it. And, we thought we deserved a little shopping time since we had been running around like crazy people for two days straight. We were hoping for some great air conditioning and not to be tempted by things that couldn't fit in a 50 pound suitcase. We actually left with nothing but some bottled water...there wasn't much we could take back with us but it was still fun to see one in Italy. We got home around 8:00, the earliest we had been home all week! The family was up hiking in the mountains so we had the house to ourselves to relax for an hour. We had some fresh watermelon and honeydew when they got home and talked all about our journeys the past couple of days. We haven't been able to talk to them much because we have been getting home so late so it was nice to catch up and have a laugh. Tomorrow, we are going to spend our last day in Italy in Vittorio Veneto. The market in the morning, Serravalle in the afternoon, and then we have to take our car back to Treviso before we start packing our lives away. I still don't know how I am going to pack everything I bought into my suitcases but we will see! Ciao!