drron29

The last of Padua. And back to the ship. You know when you are getting close. As you can see the rain got a lot heavier as we got close to the Moon. However we now had to go through the charade of Italian security. There was just a small tent. The officers were all under cover but we had to queue in the rain. We were told we had to take our passports. those that did had them inspected thoroughly leaving us in the rain. those that had no ID had to stand aside but those of us who took our driver's licence got a quick glance and straight through. As long as your DL is a photo ID it is better to take that than your passport in Italy. But the security charade had more to come. Had to take our jackets,belts and watches off. I did tell them I had a metal knee and would set off the alarm anyway but they still insisted on taking it off. So through the X ray machine and set the alarm off and you are sent to pick up your stuff and leave. One other farcical moment when the secret cigar smoker went through. He had already started to smoke his cigar before entering the tent. several officers shouted at him Ni Fumare but he just giggled and kept walking. As soon as he was out the other side the shouting stopped as it is legal to smoke outdoors. A small shuttle bus to the gangway but a bus of new passengers arrived just before we got to the gangplank so once again we had to queue in the rain as they were slowly processed. Finally 2 soggy people whose clothes were thoroughly soaked got to their suite.

The last of the Basilica. Back out into the rain. This stream runs into the Grand Canal.

People were touching the tube but they were watched.

Another spectacular/ over the top church.

So off we go heading towards the Pontifical Basilica of Saint Anthony of Padua. As a youngster I was more likely to be seen in a shop like this rather than a Basilica. But very close by was the Basilica.

No Amazeballs actually come from Tasmania and if you are ever in Northern Tasmania you should visit this place. https://www.ashgrovecheese.com.au/products/amazeballs-cheddar-cheese-50g

The old market building. Then the Jewish Quarter where the word ghetto originated. The jews had some freedoms but they could not leave the quarter at night. This is a just surviving synagogue. One of the gates on the Jewish quarter was at the end of this street.

Not just outside but in the old market building.

Then taken to the University and the building that housed the Medical school and where Galileo lectured from 1492-1510. Distinguished staff were able to put plaques around the building but they kept getting larger and the practice was eventually ceased. The guide displayed a terrible lack of knowledge when it came to Medicine. She claimed the first heart transplant in the world was in Padua 40 years ago and that William Harvey discovered his Theory of Circulation during his time in Padua. Sure he did his medical degree in Padua but his work on Ciculation was done in England because as he was the King's Physician he was able to study the King's deers and discovered the beating heart. Now heading off to the market.

Then we could go on a city tour or have some free time and meet back at the bus. Rojaan wanted to do the tour so off we went. Taken to this historic building.

The tour started off badly. There were meant to be 2 busses but only 1 could make it. One group was meant to do acity tour first and then go for refreshments the other would have refreshments and then do the city tour. Only 4 people indicated they would like to have refreshments first so it ended up that the front half of the bus would do the city tour first and those of us at the back would go and have refreshments first. There was one very unusual fellow that on excursions always remained standing on the bus. He would also show people near him videos on his phone. Unfortunately on this trip he was sitting next to me. But fortunately he also never took no for an nswer so instead of staying with us he just went off with the city tour folk. He also happens to be the secret cigar smoker on board as he lit one up before getting off the bus. When challenged he just laughs and grins. So here we are nearing our walk in the rain to the cafe for refreshments. We pass the market. And arrive at the cafe. We are offered a drink - prosecco, a spritz, coffee or a soft drink. I had the prosecco and fortunately it was drinkable. Given some chips/crisps with that. Then given a plate with 2 small sandwiches -tuna and ham and salad- plus a ham and cheese croissant, a salad roll and a little cheese and tomato tart. Wow what an experience.

The one good thing about Padua on this day was the fact that there are a lot of porticos for shelter.

Despite the weather we decided both to explore the transit excursion The Elegant City of Padua. Again it is quite a drive to get out of the Port area. As well the rain got heavier so taking pictures from the bus was impossible. This was the result when things seemed to improve. Off the bus so I could use the camera from the safety of my umbrella though it sometimes gete crashed the picture.

Wednesday and we arrive in a miserable,cold,wet and windy Fusina. Truly a place we would like to avoid. Here are some of it's delights. But you do get to see Venice through the haze.

Finally the lights of Trieste as we departed.

As usual it was Atlantide for dinner. first the day's specials. The wines. For starters Rojaan had the crab meat with watermelon and I had the caviar. Then I had the mezze plate as an intermediate dish. Rojaan had the prawns from the main menu and I had the roasted duck breast. Rojaan then had the raspberry delight whilst I had the bitter orange frozen yoghurt which is very nice.

All I had to do now was walk back to the ship.

So I had the Antipasto di Mare and the mussels in white sauce. I also had a beer and accepted the bread to soak up the mussel sauce. The antipasto was really good. I always enjoy mussels and there were 50 good sized mussels in a lovely garlicky sauce. The beer was also nice. The cost was 43 euro which I was quite happy with.

Nearly 2pm so found myself a restaurant for lunch. I chose Le Delizie as the menu sounded OK. Not one of the top rated restaurants in Trieste but a good traditional Mediterranean seafood meal for me. But first a really unusual occurrence. I got to the restaurant just after a young couple and was seated at the table next to them. They ordered first and said something extra to the waiter. I only recognised one word. Silversea. The young man I thought I had seen before so I asked why did he say Silversea. He said you are on the Silver Moon aren't you? Well yes. He then said I was on the Silver Muse in early 2019 and you were on a cruise to Auckland. So after a bit of conversation he said later that year I got married and we wanted to have family and then there was Covid so I decided I needed to get a job on land and so I now work for Fincanteri. What an incredibly small world it is. So now to the menu. Sorry I was at a table next to the water and with the glare was hard to see exactly what I was taking a picture of but here goes.

And at the corner of this street is the head office of Fincanteri who have built several ships for Silversea. At this time I split from the group and went off on my own.