Paivia Day Off 8/17/23

Good morning all.   I have today off and wanted to play tourist. First on my list was the Pavia Cathedral.

Duomo di Pavia is the largest of many churches in this city. The construction was begun in the 15th century on the site of two pre-existing Romanesque "twin" cathedrals (Santo Stefano and Santa Maria del Popolo). The cathedral houses a thorn purported to be from the Crown of Thorns worn by Chris.  The marble facing of the exterior was never completed.  The Italians blew it out of the park on this Duo.  It is my favorite so far.

It was hard to get a photo of the altar due to the bright sunlight in the window above it.

This is a close-up of the area above it.

This side chapel is called the Chapel of St. Sro.  He was the first bishop of the church.  I liked it because it looked like a cameo.

This one didn't have a name by it, but I thought the bright greenish turquoise was remarkable.

cha

The Chapel of Our Lady of Suffrage.

Even the wood is gorgeous. 

The ceiling was staggeringly high.

Those little rectangular boxes between the top and bottom round widows hide a balcony.  In the olden days, that is where the women watched from.

There was a small gathering of chanting people in this chapel.  The maintenance man was just cleaning around them.  Gotta clean some time.

My least favorite part of the day - the lavendaria.  The air conditioning was broken, so it was a tad bit warm.  Didn't matter because I had to get my laundry done.  I probably wouldn't

 have another chance for over a week.  But it is done!  Whoohoo!

Days off never seem like days off because I have so much to do. I have to shop for food, go to the pharmacy, unpack, and repack my backpack. Sometimes I find things, like icky food, days later in the bottom of the pack.   Heaven forbid forgetting maps, water, directions, or worse, not charging my cell phone. The blog takes 2 to 3 hours.  Not because I am such a brilliant writer, but it just takes a while to download photos, mainly if the internet connection isn't strong. So forgive me when I make no sense, use bad grammar, or am just plain old boring (surely not) because so often I am beyond tired when I write.  

I am never bored when I get to have dinner with the Aussies.  We shared some prosecco at a bar and then headed for dinner.  I had this pasta with fresh artichokes, cream, slivered almonds, and of course, parmesan cheese.  It was an excellent choice. We all passed on dessert, but if I get a sweet tooth in the middle of the night, I have these incredible Amaretto cookies that I bought for the trail, but I have enough for a nibble here and there.

So I still have to pack both my backpack and the suitcase with my fresh laundry, and it is 10:00 pm.  

Until tomorrow - hugs and kisses.