We went to Zurich via Padua because the Auto e Moto d'Epoca was held there last weekend. It is a vintage automobile and motorcycle exhibition held at the Padova Fiera in 15 different buildings. The show included a large vintage car display, two buildings dedicated to the sale of historic cars by individuals and two buildings (the largest two!) of vintage parts sales. It was a really interesting expo and the excursion fit into our hobby of visiting automobile museums.
We took lots of pictures and a few are shown above. Dom was particularly interested in the vintage race cars and the rare models. I always like the unusual vehicles (e.g. mini motor homes or classic fire trucks) and the beautiful paint jobs and interior restorations. The parts sales was intriguing to me because who knew there were so many vendors selling old car parts. In addition to parts for sale, one could buy vintage posters, manuals, license plates, and vintage clothing (for vintage car rallies).
After five hours in which we explored almost every inch of the exhibition we left Padova and headed for Vicenza, about a half hour away. The town, one of the jewels of the Veneto, is not large but has a lovely historic center. We did not have a room reservation so we meandered around and through the town for about half an hour before finally reaching a likely looking hotel. Unfortunately they were full but they pointed us in the direction of several others. After stopping at several other hotels that were also complete (full) we finally found a room at the AC Hotel a kilometer or so outside the historic center. It turned out to be a lucky find as we had a beautiful room decorated in a very Euro chic style and it was only Euros 75! In the bathroom was a sink and counter made of a single piece of heavy glass. I think it is a particularly lovely style but discovered that it would have to be cleaned every day as every drop of water spotted the surface.
We took a brief rest before heading back into the historic center for dinner. The oldest part of the city has Venetian architectural influences, particularly around the windows, but many of the buildings had lovely iron balconies that are different from anything I have seen elsewhere in Italy. The town was also heavily impacted by the work of Palladio who redesigned the main piazza in Vicenza.
We wandered throughout the town for quite a while before finding a place to eat. There were many cafés but few restaurants. The first couple we stopped at were fully booked for the evening. Finally, we stopped in a spot on the main piazza. It was quite busy so the comings and goings of the patrons and staff helped make up for the mediocre food. Walking through town on our way back to our car we were surprised at the number of people on the streets. It was a Saturday evening but even still there were more people on the streets at 10 pm than we usually see out late at night in the Lucca area—at least this time of year. Interestingly, even the outdoor patio at the restaurant was full of people even though the night was not particularly warm.
The next morning we continued on our way to Zurich. More on that tomorrow.
Our weather continued to be stormy throughout last night and today. It blew so hard last night that three of our four plastic lawn chairs ended up in a tangle out on the grass in front of the patio. Lots of other items outside blew around as well. There has been so much rain in the last few days that the flower pots I keep near the bread oven were nearly full of water—about 4-5 inches. Luckily, the sun came out for a while at midday because a couple came by to view the house. Cozy as the house it on a rainy day it really sparkled in the bright light.
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