Padua was perfect

We were a bit apprehensive about traveling to other towns after the debacle that was Rome.  Thankfully, Padua was AWESOME!  It is high on my list of places to go back to.  We went to see the Scrovengi Chapel.

Here's some history on the chapel.  We had reservations, which were a pain in the butt to get!  We made them online, and it was the least user friendly website either of us have used in awhile. However, it was worth the hassle!  It was absolutely beautiful. Giotto did the frescoes inside, and it had the highest security of any of the art we've seen on this trip so far.  We had to leave our bags at the coat check, then go into an airlock type thing for 15 minutes so they could bring the temperature to a certain level.  They only allowed 25 people in at one time. They showed us a video about the art while we waited.  Rebecca and I were impressed that the paintings were still so clear, considering how many traumatic things that the chapel has gone through over the years.  This includes the general being bombed in WWII and the attached palace being torn down in the 1800's.  We were not allowed to take pictures, and we were only allowed to stay in the chapel for 20 minutes, but I think I could have stayed there all day.  Rebecca said that if there had been less people, she would have just laid down on the floor and looked up, but that seems to be frowned upon here.  Here's some pictures that I found online, but they in no way do it justice.  It was one of the most incredible things I've ever seen.

After our too short viewing, we went in search of our lunch place.  Rebecca had located a gluten free pizza place in her Gluten Free Italy book, so we walked to it from the chapel.  We even got there without getting lost, which is pretty much the first time we can say those words on this trip.

The pizza was delicious!

They even had gluten free beer, which was a rare treat for Rebecca. 

We also popped into a grocery store and found Mr. Clean! We decided he seems friendlier on the Italian bottles of cleaner.  We took a moment to look like the silly tourists that we are to snap this picture.

Cathy enjoyed the day a lot, and managed (somehow) to stay awake on the train ride home.  We stopped for a gelato and came back to the hotel to crash.  Padua is absolutely on the list for our next visit to Italy.  We both said how much we wished we'd had more time. There was a LOT of stuff to see, and it was such a pretty town.  It's a happy exhaustion.