Rains are frequent in Ferrara. After brief intervals of sunlight and warmth, they invariably claim the town back, gentle, yet persistent. On Monday, I walked to my early morning class accompanied by a rain- drenched wind. It was good bye to a weekend, which commenced rather early and stretched on lazily over four sunny days.
Padova was a spontaneous decision. the city lies an hour by train from Ferrara, en-route Venice. Along that one hour, the flat country transforms as solitary hillocks rise here and there as sudden surprises upon the landscape.
We spent the morning wandering among the ruins of the Roman arena, and the many side streets that branches out from the Piazza Cavour, lined on either sides by an assortment of medieval and modern structures. In front of the famed Cafe Pedrocchi, a small group wearing large crosses across their chests stood holding hand written placards. An old man with long white beard, painstakingly explained to Dani why it was imperative to stop sinning!,if possible then and there.