Stepping Back in Time: Padua
While visiting family in Trieste, Italy, my daughter Tasia and I took a weekend getaway to Padua (spelled Padova in Italy) and Venice. After a leisurely 2-hour drive, we strolled along the cobbled walkways in Padua where the purveyors of local produce, plants, clothes and accessories displayed their goods at the open air market shaded by the majestic, 13th century Basilica of St. Anthony. Just steps away from the Basilica of St. Anthony is the Prato della Valle, the largest square in Italy, a huge space with a grassy, green island at the center surrounded by a canal and ringed by statues. Past the Prato della Valle, we came upon two ancient magnolia trees, stately sentries guarding the entrance of the famous Botanical Garden of Padua.