Sarge, hello: both shops and the market are closed Wednesdays. In the vaults beneath Palazzo della Ragione (the medieval town hall), there are plenty of wonderful cheese stores, my favourite is Da Roberto, http://www.daroberto.com/index.htm
Of course, pecorino romano is the worst choice among Italian pecorini; and you'll be hard-pressed to find "local Tuscan olive oil" - Tuscan products are hardly local in Padova, and there is no local olive oil in Padova whatsoever.

keith and i walked from the train station in padova to the scovengi chapel/petrocchi cafe area/

it is an easy straight-arrow walk with plenty of signs to point you in the right direction/

a second-class round-trip ticket from santa lucia station in venice to padova is 7 euros/

there is lots of high-end shopping in padova--louis vuitton, prada, etc.

one thing to remember is that as most people speak at least some english in venice, many people in padova do not or do not like to speak english/

all announcements made at padova train station are in italian, so just be aware of that if your train is late or not on the track it is supposed to be/


the performance artist known as razr//

I would well and truly suggest a trp up the Brenta Canal, we drove from Venice up the canal, throuh Padua and stayed in Vicenza for two nights. I would echo the above, in at Padua has the feel of a large sprawling. Vicenza feels perfectly balances with upmarket shops and a more up market feel. The old town has the feel of being 300 years old rather than medIeval.

We could have "sunk" into Vicenza and stayed a week or month......

franco- don't leave me hanging. What is the best pecorino to buy? I love pecorino. If I'm going all that way...

I will be in Venice, Padua, Milan, Florence, Pienza, Montepulciano, Orvieto and Rome.

SO, what is the best pecorino and in which of these cities am I most likely to find it? (I would love to take home a whole wheel!)

Thanks, franco, and everyone for the input. I truly appreciate it. This forum always makes my Italy trips so much better! Grazie mille!!!!!!!!

I have visited both cities and preferred Vicenza but Padua is also worth a visit.
We took the Brenta Canal boat trip from Venice and saw Palladio's Villa Malcontenta. We chose to leave the boat when they stopped for lunch as the other places to be visited were not Palladian. We took the bus back, easy to do. We bought tickets for the shorter portion. We enjoyed the boat trip.

I think a day each makes more sense if only to give you time to have a nice long lunch between morning and afternoon openings.

I really don't think you can get much of a feel for Vicenza in half a day. If I couldn't give it most of a day, see at least Teatro Olimpico, and have a good meal, I would probably not go. I would choose a day in Vicenza over a day in Paduva.

Thanks for the advice. We have two days to visit both, but since they seem to be so close by train, I thought it might be an option.

Sarge, the best pecorino types are Sardinian and Tuscan; plus (and that's, though from Tuscany too, a different kind again) pecorino di Pienza. Even though you are going to Pienza, however, I don't suggest you buy a wheel of pecorino di Pienza, because even old Pienza pecorino is not as hard as other pecorini, i.e. still relatively soft and moist, and I'm not sure whether it would survive the trip. You'd perhaps better buy Sardinian or standard Tuscan pecorino stagionato (stagionato = old), and every good cheese store throughout Italy will sell them, of course also Da Roberto. Personally, I think the most interesting of all pecorini is (old, dry and gently smoked) Fiore Sardo.

franco, thanks so much for taking the time to respond.

I actually had the opportunity a couple years ago (in Pienza) to taste pecorino at different ages. It was amazing how much difference there was in the taste of young vs old cheese. And I'm with you...the older, the better. I will most assuredly pick up some pecorino from Da Roberto!

Since you're here... :) :) :)... my daughter is a very good cook. She is going to be fixing us a couple of dinners in Venice this trip. What fish/seafood would you recommend we look for in Venice? Is the Rialto market the best place to buy? (I am no connoisseur. As a matter of fact, I don't care for fish very much. But something mild and prepared simply will always be fine with me.) What will be plentiful and fresh in October in Venice?

GRAZIE!!!!!!!!!!

For cooking in Venice, please refer to http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...estaurants.cfm
There should be plenty of ideas for your daughter!

Franco

I have had a nagging feeling for a long time.

Simple question, which I would love a one word answer and will not raise again.

Do you know The Black Swan?

No. (To the extent of not even knowing what The Black Swan may be.)

Then my nagging feeling was incorrect.

I had a feeling that you were another Franco. (Francesco)