Vicenza, Italy

We are staying in a rented apartment in the middle of the ancient town of Vicenza, where we are on something of a pilgrimage for Laura Lee to see the architecture of Andrea Palladio. He designed a vast number of buildings built here in the 16th century. Our view of his work is up close and personal as the view from our window (to the right) is the Basilica Palladiana, designed from 1546 to 1549, his first public commission.

Laura Lee walked to two of his nearby villas yesterday, we drove out to one about 30 miles away this morning, and she visited “Palazzo Chiericati” and a theater, the “Teatro Olimpico”, this afternoon in town. I will refrain from showing my lack of architectural knowledge by further comment, but suffice it to say she is in heaven. Below this entry is the Lovely Laura Lee photographing the ceiling of the villa we visited this morning.

Meanwhile, I am checking out the town, the pasta, the wine, the Gelato, etc., and growing accustomed to the idea of an afternoon siesta, all as part of my recovery from the bicycle trip we completed Thursday afternoon. You can see the entries for each day of biking below, but nothing was written because we had little time, and we were exhausted at the end of each day. Adding up the numbers for five days on a bicycle in Tuscany, here are the statistics: 

Miles — 120.67

Time Riding — 16:12

Average Speed — 7.31 mph

Altitude Climbed — 11,173 feet

Fastest Speed — 32.4 mph

Calories Burned — 8,899

The average uphill climb each day exceeded 2,000 feet and one day was more than 3,000 feet.

We will be in Vicenza until Wednesday and then in Venice for five nights before heading home.

Ciao! And here’s Laura Lee on the floor of the villa.