A walk through the city centre
With the prospect of not doing anything all day (except of course, for the usual Erasmus night out), I got in touch with the Erasmus people I had met during the first day and we agreed on going out to explore the city some more.
Padova is a beautiful place to walk around with all its narrow curvy streets which often have at least one café, bar, or restaurant each, and modern shops tastefully placed in historical buildings. Most of the squares have a market where people sell food, clothes, books, or sometimes even their own paintings and art products.
Padova is a city of art in any form you can imagine. Painting exhibitions are quite common (the one below is an exhibition of the Bank of Italy), and you can come across street art quite often.
Shops located in historical buildings tend to preserve the original style of the rooms, sometimes showing original paintings on the walls.
Padova is also a great place for foodies; going through TripAdvisor and similar websites will show you that there are many amazing places to eat and have desserts. Me and my friends visited two highly recommended places; Idemcon Patate, where you can get fresh chips with a a variety of both classic and unusual sauces, and Premiata Gelateria Artigianale Portogallo, supposedly the best place to have ice cream in Padova. I can’t really talk about the taste – you would have to try for yourself – but it was beyond great!
We finished our trip by stopping at Prato della Valle,, a famous elliptical square near Padova city centre. It’s the largest square in Italy and one of the largest squares in Europe – and it’s firmly connected with the history of the city. Originally a swamp, the square was turned into one of the most important places in Padova where markets are held regularly; it is also very popular amongst the locals as the grass areas, treas, and the water fountain in the middle create the perfect environment for meetings and picnics.
Erasmus karaoke party
To break the ice amongst the Erasmus students and to let them socialise, the ESN have organised a karaoke party at a local bar. I have to honestly say that it wasn’t the best choice in terms of the size of the venue (there is A LOT of Erasmus students in Padova), but we had a lot of fun despite the queues and little space around us. The ESN team have started with High School Musical and ever since, popular party songs (such as Bohemian Rhapsody, Sweet Dreams, or My Heart Will Go On) have been on. What a great evening!
