Day 27 Friday 13th June 2008

Rain first thing but we drove into Vicenza anyway. The rain stopped by 10.00am and we had a bright and breezy day afterwards. We visited the Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza. This was built to a design by Palladio although it not completed until after his death. The theatre is based on the Ancient Roman model with a large stage wall ornamented with statues and other figures. The seats are in a semi-circle and stepped.  We also visited the art gallery and the Archaeological Museum.

After an early lunch we drove to Soave. It was closed for lunch when we arrived at about 2.00pm. We walked up to the castle and found it did not open until 3.00pm so we walked back down again. The town walls are being restored and are virtually complete around the town. The surrounding area is densely covered in vines and produces a lot of wine.

We later drove to Ponte di Nanto to buy some dinner and insect cream.

Start Mileage 13912			Finish 13980		Miles travelled = 68
								Total miles = 2495

Day 28 Saturday 14th June 2008

We packed the car and were ready to leave before 10.00am. Then Phil and Silvia arrived and invited us to have a look at the Palazzo Rosso, which we agreed to. The Palazzo was built in the 17th century so is about 400 years old. It has decayed but much of the wall and ceiling painting has survived, although damp and water has attacked some of it. The roof has been restored so the building is now water tight, but keeping the pigeons out is a problem. There are some really big rooms but quite a few would be liveable if there was plumbing and electricity.

We drove the scenic route past the Eugenian hills to pick up the motorway south of Padova. The motorway travel was OK until between Bologna and Firenze when we came across queues. This slowed us down considerably.

We arrived at the Bellavista Agriturismo at about 4.30. After reception and unloading the car we went down to the local COOP for food shopping and settled in.

Start Mileage 13980			Finish 14151		Miles travelled = 171
								Total miles = 2666