The Dolomites, Padova and Venice

Padova and Venice, September 2025

We spent five days in Padova. Vitya was attending a conference, while Masha explored the old town. We didn’t take many photographs this time.

Padova

The Basilica of St Anthony.

Griffins carved from red and white stone at the entrance to the Basilica of Santa Giustina.This one is being gently nibbled by a lion.

A griffin clutching a mounted rider in its paws.

It drizzled all day long. Palazzo Meschini, Piazzetta San Nicoló.

The enormous hall inside the Palazzo della Ragione. Every wall is covered in frescoes.

The upper gallery on the second floor of the palace.

There are market squares on both sides of the palace. This one is the Piazza della Frutta (Fruit Square).

The Piazza delle Erbe (Herb Square).

Piazza dei Signori (the Square of the Lords).

Botanical Garden

On our last day in Padova, before leaving, we visited the Botanical Garden. A few plants were still in bloom in the autumn.

It's tucked away behind the Basilica of St Anthony.

Water soldier or water-aloe (Stratiotes aloides).

Fruits of the ginkgo tree (Ginkgo bilôba).

Water lettuce (Pistia stratiotes).

Fork-leaved sundew (Drosera binata), a carnivorous plant native to Australia.

Brugmansia, commonly known as Angel's Trumpet (Brugmansia aurea).

Venice

It only takes about half an hour to reach Venice from Padova. We spent a whole day there. We have visited Venice several times before, it's one of those places you can return to again and again. We had no particular plan, we simply wandered along the canals, taking in the views and enjoying ourselves. We tried to avoid the crowded tourist spots, preferring the real Venice where ordinary people go about their daily lives. Elderly residents hurried to the Saturday markets with shopping trolleys, parents strolled with prams, and in one of the squares we stumbled upon a university volleyball championship.

A small, cosy courtyard with an old well. Nearly every door had a reusable shopping bag hanging on it. We guessed that's how they collect paper and glass for recycling.

The main façade of a house facing the Grand Canal.

Laundry hanging out to dry over the canals.

Narrow canals lined with moored boats.

Gondoliers cheerfully calling out to attract tourists for a ride.

We took a trip to the Lido and swam in the sea. On the way back we caught a vaporetto all the way to the railway station to enjoy views of Venice from the water. St Mark's Square.