In Padua

We visited Padua in 2009 and thought it was a really pretty little town, with a great deal to offer compared with larger cities, and being only 25 minutes from Venice means that it is readily accessible to the "big smoke" if the mood strikes one.  Last time we were here, we spent three days and didn't see a lot, because it rained on each of those days - we made a day trip to Venice on one, a day trip to Verona on a second and spent a soppy wet day in Padua itself on the third.  Nevertheless, as I said, we could see that it had the potential for a future longer visit, so here we are, and this time for an entire month.

We arrived by train exactly on schedule at 5:11pm, having made the trip from Paris to Milan, changing trains and journeying on to Padua.  The arrangement was that we were to phone the lady who owns our apartment when we arrived at the station and she would meet us at the apartment if we caught a taxi there.  That went very smoothly, which is always nice when you are making arrangements in part-English, part-Italian, by email from Australia, 10 months prior. 

The apartment is an absolute delight;  it is about three times larger than the one we rented in Paris, with a large separate (fully-equipped and pantry part-stocked) kitchen, bathroom, separate toilette and MASSIVE living room which includes a king-sized bed, two big white leather couches, a wall unit with TV, wardrobes, desk and chairs.  The huge window looks out over the cobblestoned street, and as I write, we can hear the sounds of people walking downstairs (we are on the first floor), cyclists riding by, laughter and general chatter.  The street is closed to cars, so there is no annoying vehicular noise drifting up.  Beautiful shops line both sides of the street and we have noticed a really big change in Padua since 2009 in that there are lots of designer-label stores and the shops seem to be more "upmarket" than we recall.  Nevertheless, the community feel is still very much evident and we find Italy more down-to-earth and easygoing than other places we have visited.  Again I remarked to David within 10 minutes of being here, "It just feels like home, that's why I love it here."

Early this morning David ventured out before I was properly awake, to get some breakfast food and milk.  In his absence I located the coffee-maker and some ground coffee and had that in train for his return.  We ate to the sound of Italian breakfast radio and planned how we would spend our first day here.  David said that while he was out, he had seen the market stallholders setting up, so we decided that we would head out and stock the fridge with vegetables, buy cheeses and prepare supplies for (at least) the next few days.

There is a huge piazza containing the fruit and vegetable market, just 100 metres from our apartment; you can also buy all kinds of nuts, seeds, rices, spices and fresh herbs there; behind it in an old building are the delicatessens, butchers, fishmongers, bakers and so on.  Just around the other side of that building is another market selling clothes, tablecloths, handbags, homewares and other necessary items.  Another 100 metres along is the supermarket, where you can buy all sorts of wonderful things that we can't get at home!  I would love to be able to transport the whole lot to Glenferrie Road, but alas...

No shopping trip is complete without stopping for coffee (cappuccino is only drunk in the morning - if you ask for milk in your coffee after noon, everyone knows you are "just" a tourist) and coffee is not coffee without a small pastry to accompany it - David enjoyed a custard pastry of some delicious description and I have no idea what was in mine, but it was damned good!  We also think that Italian coffee is far superior to French coffee, but I guess it's a personal choice thing.  I don't think you can go past the dense crema on top of an Italian cappuccino - absolutely divine.

Now we have returned to the apartment and it is 1:30pm.  David is preparing a light lunch of panini filled with all sorts of treats, while I write this and contemplate an hour on the couch reading and possibly napping (the shops are closed over lunchtime, and anyway I bought two shirts, a scarf and a cardigan this morning at the market and that should be enough self-indulgence for me today).

D1