Our Plans

We flew from Philadelphia by Aer Lingus with a one hour lay over in Dublin allowing an extra day before the tour began.  When we arrived in Venice Marco Polo we took the bus to Padua.  It is actually two buses which change in Venice so I think you could actually look into a little Venice excursion before taking the second leg to Padua.  In Padua we got on the local bus going in the wrong direction!  But tickets are still good so we just needed to hop off and pick up the next bus in the opposite direction.  We found our stop and walked to our hotel. We had 24 hours before meeting with the tour group.  We spent that time exploring the arcaded streets with a gelato. Dinner was pizzas and a liter of wine at Pago Pago...we may have been a little too excited about the wine.  Coincidentally or not, we were given the English menu before we said a word.  I guess our red hair,  blonde hair and the wearing of shorts announced that for us. (Watch for my tip about clothing.)

The next day we spent time in the Prato Della Valle people watching, looking in the shops, and having spritzes among the college students. Our luggage was safely stored at Hotel Fagiano where we met our guide, Tricia, along with Lisa, an apprentice guide, and our tour mates.

From here our experience picks up with the Padua page.  I tried not to be too wordy, just give you enough to taste the experience without overwhelming you.  Just a taste is all you'll need for wanting to make this your own trip.  Details are always handy at ricksteves.com.