We flew in from Austin on Sunday, the 15th and went straight back to the airport on Monday, the 16th to fly out for Italy. It was definitely an adventure trying to unpack and re-pack.. but somehow we got it accomplished.
We flew all day Monday (ATL-JFK and then JFK to Venice) and arrived in Venice around 10am on Tuesday morning. I did not sleep a wink on the plane so I was exhausted. Coach seating is incredibly uncomfortable for 9 hours at a time.. as I'm sure you can imagine.
We rented a car as soon as we arrived and left for Padova (Padua). Our first stop was the Auto Grill to get a bite to eat. I guess an Auto Grill could be compared to a gas station/fast food restaurant. Except that Italians don't take food to go.. they actually SIT and EAT and enjoy themselves. And the food is slightly more healthy, as I'm sure you could imagine :) Americans don't set the bar very high there.
We arrived in Padova around 1:00 on Tuesday. I immediately took a quick power nap. I knew I couldn't sleep for long because it's best to just push through. But I just needed a quick snooze! And it worked out well because Thomas had to do a few hours of work after being unavailable for so many hours while flying.
Later in the afternoon, we decided to venture out into Padova for a few. We got our first serving of Gelato and our first glass of wine of the trip! Little did I know there would be many MANY more to come (of both). We also saw downtown Padova, the central "garden", and also Saint Anthony's Cathedral.
Views from our Hotel (Hotel Giotto)
Tiramasu Gelato!
Vino Rosso de la Casa
Later that night (around 9:30.. yes, I said 9:30) we met Thomas' boss Mossimo for dinner across the street. It was the same restaurant that we would be taking dealers to the next night so he wanted to familiarize us and let us try some of the menu items. It was delicious! Prosciutto and Asparagus, Gnocchi, Squid Eggs, Flank Steak and Veggies, Chocolate Cake, and Lemonciello. I could of gone without the squid eggs.. but there was a little bit of a language barrier :) When I said "no fish", somehow the squid eggs got overlooked. I politely declined but Thomas said they were pretty tasty.
The next day, we drove back to the airport to wait for everyone else to arrive. There were 11 of us in all so it took awhile to get everyone organized, in the bus, and headed back to Padova. Once we arrived back in Padova, some people took a nap and some of us ventured back out again to do more sightseeing.
That night, we took everyone back over to the restaurant where they had organized a buffet of appetizers for us (cod, bruschetta, meatballs, quinoa, and prosciutto and cheese). For dinner, we had Risotto, Pasta with a spicy tomato sauce, Pork with potatoes, and marscapone with strawberries for dessert. And of course red wine and Prosecco. Everyone was exhausted after a day of flying so we all headed back to the hotel and turned in for the night.
The next day, we would travel to Thienne to tour the Casadei Bussellato factory and head to a different hotel.
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