Day 71 - Mercoledì 19 Giugno 2013

From - Padua.
To - Ferrara.
Distance - 83km
Time - 5 hours
Total - 4162km

The hostel breakfast was not up to much but I tried to male the most of it because it was unattended. It consisted of thin fruit juice, bread rolls, butter and jam and pre packed croissant and coffee. I managed a bread roll and croissant for the journey.

I got an 8am start to try to make the most of travelling when it is cooler. By 9.30am I passed a temperature display that told me it was 31 degrees. Hot is an understatement. To make matters worse there was very little shade to ride in.

The main towns I passed through were Monselice (I didnt stop) and Rovigo. Rovigo had some nice features, it's church and main Piazza were certainly worth a picture. I stopped for water and filled up my bottle and had a good gulp or ten! I continued south towards Ferrara and rode along side the River Po for about 12km. That's another river to add to my collection.

Ferrara seemed to take longer to get to than I thought. It always seemed 5km away for at east the last 15km. By the way, the Italian cycle route signs are almost non existent. There were a few yesterday bu none today. Some of he cycle paths were actually good but there were no signs and I took the wrong route twice and kept having to stop to check my iPad maps. Stopping is the worst bit because that's when I start serious sweating. It's the breeze that is created by riding that makes the heat bearable but even towards lunchtime the breeze was so hot it was of no benefit.

I went straight to the hotel which I in the centre of the city. There is air conditioning in he room....fab! I had a shower and got changed and went out to look around Ferrara. It is a World Heritage Site just like Venice. I think he Italians ms have a few committee members on the UNESCO organisation because we don't seem to get these awards in the North West of England. What about nomination Burnley or Barrow in Furness! Well, the afternoon was hot too and I didn't get further than seeing the Castle of St Michelle and the Cathedral. The castle was built to keep th local people suppressed but later became a more lavish affair. The original ceiling paintings from he 1500's were fantastic. The cathedral was extremely grand. I think I am going to have to reassess the hierarchy of my superlatives because it is difficult to classify such beauty. I am thinking of having a church of the trip award!

Back to the room for a lie down and enjoy the air con. Not for long though! The wifi doesn't work in the room so I ended up skyping for over an hour in the foyer.

I'll go out for a meal and see if I can get some Ferrara Rocher chocolates!

Photo 1, Ruined tower on the route.
Photo 2, Piazza at Rovigo.
Photo 3, Nice villa I passed.
Photo 4, Part of the Palazzo Municipal.
Photo 5, Front of the Cathedral.
Photo 6, Side of Cathedral with shops built into the side.
Photo 7, St Michelle's Castle.
Photo 8, Inside the Castle there were strategically placed mirrors so you could see the ceiling paintings. Sadly this one included me! Oh dear, it looks like I have a white beard!
Photo 9, An Aperol Spritz as a cool reward for my cycling and also a nice ceiling painting too.
Photo 10, Sitting on a Lion Statue outside the Cathedral.