VACATION 2012
Chris: 40 – Slovenija: 21 ….A family account of our exploits in Italy and Slovenia
DAY ONE
Chris, Mandy, Bob and Lorna leaving from SFO. Jessica leaving from LAX. Let the fun begin
.
All checked in.
Just sitting around waiting for our plane to pull up to the gate
Best news- two words ON TIME We’re off for a long night of flying.
DAY TWO
Arrived safe and sound,but tired in Frankfurt.
Met up with Jessica.
Hopped on our plane to Venice. Flew over the Dolomites. what a beautiful picture from high above.
Arrived about 5pm at Venice airport. You know you”re in a fun place when the baggage carousel looks like this:
Took a Water Taxi to the city and got our first views of Venezia
The adventure has begun and so has the picture taking;
Our First Views
:
As we approached the Grand Canal the charm of Venice took hold of us.
The adventure continues as we navigate the narrow streets in search of Casa Cosmo
Explored the San Marco Square area. There is some serious shopping here.
Shoes and purses to die for. Stopped for a gelato, our first of many.
Then we walked the Square
and stopped for drinks at Vivaldi
and dinner at Caffe Internazionale. 
Tried an array of pasta’s and shared a bottle of wine. This is how we would end our evenings~ good food and good wine. Capped the evening off with another gelato.
DAY THREE
Day started with a very nice continental breakfast brought to the room. Then it off to Mass at Basilica San Marco.
The front entrance is reserved for the tourists to enter. Those attending Mass must enter through a side door, walk around construction and then into the area in front of the altar) Mass was interesting experience of a blending of old church and new. Assembly participation was encouraged.
After Mass we went to lunch at Vino del Pinto. Enjoyed the vino while we waited for our lunch to be served.
Everything about food in Italy is a work of art.
After lunch walked around Rialto area
Not all is romantic. 
Like every city there is construction and grafitti
To call the streets “narrow” would be an understatement.
Much more romantic and much wider are the waterways of Venezia.
Our next adventure was the Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari (Church of the Assumption) It is a large brick Italian Gothic structure with a plain exterior and a very ornate, rich with art, interior. It is one of the major churches in Venezia. It has the second tallest campanile in the city
The interior of the church is impressive
The wood carvings on the choir stalls have great details of scenes in Venezia and of the saints
The organ was built by Gaetano Callido of Este,
It was now time for a frosty beverage before heading back to hotel for a short rest. Then it was back to the Grand Canel.
Stopped along the Canal for a little proseco at the Hotel del Leone.
Some of us drank coke.
We finished the day with dinner at Al Conte Pescaor
How our days would end.
Our first stop in Padua was a tour of The Church of the Eremitani or Church of the Hermits
It was built in 1276 and dedicated to the saints Philip and James a church highly damaged during WWII but now is being restored. In the photos you can see the stucco damage and the restoration of the frescoes
There is beautiful artwork through out the church.
Next off to the highlight of the day, the Scrovegni chapel to view the paintings of Giotto. This was awesome! A few photos taken from the souvenir book. Must be there to truly appreciate the splendor of this place. 
Spent the rest of the day walking through Padua stopping first at the University of Padua to view some archeological exhibits.
Had lunch at a sidewalk Bistro and strolled through the streets of Padua.
THE STREETS OF PADUA
ARTiST PARK
Tomb of St Anthony
The rest of the afternoon was spent at the two basilicas of Padua: St Anthony’s Is the most famous of the two and the burial place of St Anthony.
Tomb of St Anthony
St Guistina Basilica was built in 600 and renovated in 1600. Napoleon took over the cloisters and used them for barracks. In 1900 the basilica and 3 of the cloisters were returned to the Franciscans
Art of St Guistina
In March 2012 Eastern Italy suffered a major earthquake. The damage was evident in the Basilica where the Chapel of St Luke and the evangelists tomb were off limits.
Our day of touring ended with a frosty beverage at the Garden Shop.
It was good that we stopped for those refreshments because back at the train station we had a LONG wait for a much delayed train. Back in Venice we enjoyed dinner at Conte al Pescaor.
DAY SIX
After our breakfast it was off to the campanile of San Marco to view Venice from on top of the world and learn all the history and folklore about the city.
A view from the top
The Bell tolls. Stand back
Scaffolding Just like home
