Padua

Sorry for the delay in posting. I'm having trouble connecting to the internet via my phone, so I needed to have time to get to an internet place. We rode a record 43 miles yesterday, starting in Sotomarina and ending in Padua. It was flat, and mostly on small roads or on the levees of canals. Some was gravel. It started out cold and ended warm. We were out of water, tired, hot and needed a bathroom by the time we got to Padua. Those boys have it easy. There weren't any big enough bushes for us girls along the way.

We had a long lunch break in Piave de Sacco, and it warmed up enough for us to sit outside in the sun. The country reallly reminded me of riding in the Skagit valley, flat farmland with levees.

This morning we did a tour of Padua, seeing the Giotto frescoes in the Scrovegni Chapel and St Anthony's Basilica. Peggy and I had walked up to the fruit market before the tour, and had explored a little on our own. There are 60,000 students here, and we saw several enduring their graduation roasting outside the university this morning. This involves having their friends prepare the roast on a large paper, and the student, dressed in a ridiculous costume gets to stand and read it. If they make a mistake they take a drink and start all over. One poor student was in boots and skis on a bench reading hers and chugging wine from a popcorn container.

We will go out to Stra to see the Villa Pisano this afternoon, by bus. We actually rode by it yesterday on bike. It is a Palladian Villa, and quite spectacular.

Tomorrow we ride partway to Verona, then give up our bikes and do the rest by bus.

We've decided that while the elderhostel distances are good, the pace is a little slow. It took us from 8:30 to 5 PM to ride 43 miles yesterday. Not just lots of breaks but a slow pace. We are all required to ride behind the leader, so all we can do is go fast up to him. Peggy and I have done that when we've been a corner and get back into the group at the tail end. Tomorrow I'll be sweep for our 15 mile ride.

yesterday I was a corner near the end, and last group missed a turn and didn't show up. I walked back so I could see them and shouted, but they didn't see me. A nice italian gentleman talked to me, and then went and found them. A corner needs to stay at their post until it snows, so I couldn't chase them down. The guide was coming back to find them, and they found me, all at the same time.

We do like the elderhostel lectures and tours, although by now we'd like to stay some of these places a little longer.

We have dinner with Craig and John tomorrow night in Verona.

Anne