Weekend Close to Home: Vicenza and Movies

Mapping our route in Vicenza

*This post is about a weekend in late February/early March... as I try to catch up, I may back-date posts later.*

After living here for a few months, Dave and I agree that of its many charms, the absolute best thing about being here is our central location. Padova is located in the Veneto region, which stretches from Venezia (Venice) north to the Dolomiti and west to the lake district. Within forty-five minutes, we can reach a diverse group of sites and cities.

After traveling last weekend, we decided to stay closer to home, exploring one of the closer cities, Vicenza. This off again, on again travel schedule may be something that we continue- I appreciate having a few days away from our apartment, but every weekend would be too much.

Entering central Vicenza

I didn't take the time to do much research before our trip started- I was too busy figuring out the logistics of leaving home. We accumulated three guide books about the Veneto (the region of Italy that Padova and Venezia are in) during our preparations for the trip. I must have still believed that 'Venezia isn't that special', so I hadn't really looked at them. (I was also pretty busy preparing for the trip itself.)

Teatro Olimpico

In all of the guidebooks I looked at, there weren't that many places that made me think, 'Wow, I really need to go there!' As I glanced through one of the guidebooks, Teatro Olimpico caught my eye. I can't really explain why. I think it was the combination of its age, the sculpture, and its prominent listing as a 'must-see'. When we got to the ticket office, I balked a bit at spending 30 euro for the entrance fee, but knew that I'd be sad to miss it.

Teatro Olimpico

I was right! Even the boys thought that the theater was cool. It is very small, and the ceiling, while painted to look like clouds, is still pretty close overhead. There are statues lining the outer walls, so you feel as though the important people in the past are looking over your shoulder. The set there is permanent, and through the doors of the set they've made backstage look as though it continues off into the distance. The perspective it gives is pretty remarkable, even when you don't think about the fact it was built in the 1580s.

Nothing special. I just
like this picture!

Similar to most Italian cities, there is a main piazza (courtyard) area in Vicenza. I liked this one because while traveling around one of the buildings, you traveled up and down stairs, so it was just a pedestrian area. It felt as though it were similar to how it was traveled when it was built. There was also a street musician performing as we entered the area. The echoes of the violin music were reverberating off of the walls and through the passages.

As usual, Dave took a few minutes to find the restaurant he wanted to have lunch at. I eat to live, while he really, really enjoys food. We found a neat little restaurant adjacent to a library. The man working there was the only employee, so he was cooking, serving, and running the bar. The meal was amazing- Dave would remember more details than I do- there were only a couple of lunch choices, which is normal at smaller restaurants. He was extremely nice, and offered us an after lunch drink on the house.

"Mom, I'm so excited, I don't
even care if the movie is
in Italian!"

To continue our laid back weekend, we decided to see a movie. The boys absolutely love the How to Train Your Dragon movies and shows, so we decided to see #3. Here it was just called 'Dragon Trainer'. It's been a pretty big deal, with stuffed animals available at the grocery stories to promote the movie. When we bought our tickets, the person at the ticket counter asked where we wanted to sit. I know that some of the luxury theaters in the States will sell particular seats, but we weren't expecting the question and it took us a minute to figure out what she was asking. Ben said before the movie started that he was 'so excited, he didn't even care if it was in Italian'. Which, of course, it was. I was happy to understand a large amount of the movie. Dave said that he understood pretty much everything, except for some of the jokes.