April 2008, Italy

In April 2008, we were invited to a wedding in Cittadella, Italy, and decided to make a slightly larger trip out of it, in order to see Venice and Padova as well. We arrived at the Marco Polo airport of Venice.

Before I go any further, I have to note that I have rarely returned from a trip and been so disappointed and discouraged with what I had brought back. It is not Italy's fault, nor my camera's, although the looseness which developed itself in my 35mm Summilux-M ASPH did ruin a few otherwise good or great shots. It was something else, I wish I knew what. I guess I had something else on my mind. I just wasn't seeing clearly and didn't feel terribly involved somehow.

In any case, after the plane ride and further transportation we arrived in Cittadella, and took the time to walk around a bit and see the town. Cittadella is a walled fortress city, and the most picturesque part is inside the walls. Outside it is more modern, and parts are even a bit ugly, buildings from the 70s and 80s, but the walled city is gorgeous, very quaint. Quirky details abound, like the little holes in the garden wall, where the owner kept little coloured glasses with candles inside. It must have looked very nice at night.

The last shot, btw, is one which was ruined by the misalignment of my 35mm lens. I love the composition, but didn't check the focus properly, since I had not yet realized that the lens was off, so there is a weird slightly diagonal line of sharpest focus which does not include the bicycle.

The wedding itself was very nice, quiet and quick, in a little nearby church. For the sake of privacy, I won't post more than these two shots. I would guess that there was about one third friends, and two thirds family. In northern Europe those proportions would probably be swapped...
After the wedding, we moved to a very nice little hotel in Padova, the home town of my now-married friend. A very nice little town, and we had a good time walking around and seeing it, although it often rained.

The shot of the meat-shopping gentleman is another which was left weirdly soft by my lens. The tower is La Specula, the observatory, where Galileo Galilei did some of his work.

But of course, in this part of Italy, the main attraction is Venice. We came on a fairly dreary day, which took some of the enjoyment out of it, to be honest, but we still had a good time, and saw quite interesting things. Our favorite parts were when you go past all the main attractions, and end up in a smaller neighbourhood where people actually live, and clothes are drying (or getting wet) outside.

As a sidenote, having played "Assassin's Creed II", it is amazing the fidelity with which they rendered the city of Venice. Having been to Venice first, I recognized many areas and details, and even entire paths through sections of Venice. Anyone who would like to know what Venice is like could do a lot worse than to play this game!

Finally, our last day in Padova was sunny and beautiful! I would love to come back some day, with more time, a more flexible schedule and better weather!