Wed 22 Oct- Padova and E'Orto Botanico del l'Universita di Padova

Wed 22 Oct- We got up at 6:45 to join the GCT tour of Padova (Padua), home of the second oldest university in Europe. We saw where the first autopsies were performed for would-be doctors. The university's walls were covered with the coats-of-arms of the students who attended. Apparently Galileo taught here for many years; as well as Copernicus and Vesalius. After that, we visited the "E'Orto Botanico del l'Universita di Padova", the botanical garden used by the students of the University of Padua. It had many different plants, all nicely identified with the Latin name and Italian name. It was not a formal type garden, however; it is really a reference work for the students. The walk was pleasant after the hustle and bustle of the city center with the university. We stopped by the open air market and picked up some grapes and tomatoes for snack tonight, since dinner is not included
We had a pizza, beer and cappuccino (E 11) in the 'Caffe Cavour' in the Piazza Cavour near the university, watching the people go about their business until it was time to board the GCT bus back to Abano.
There was a lecture 'Italian with and without words' lecture given by Lucio. He gave us a history of the Italian language as it evolved from Latin, and gave us tips on proper pronunciation. Then he told us many interesting anecdotes and examples of silent communication by gestures and facial expressions, including some very impolite gestures he warned us NOT to use. Following his lecture, a recent Padova graduate talked about the current affairs in Italy, and how things have changed since becoming an EU member and adopting the Euro.
We went to the nearby 'Cafe Milano' where we had pasta and ravioli, plus draft 'Birra Forst Spa Merano' Pils beer (since 1857, http://www.forst.it), currently and Italian beer, but formerly Austrian when the Austro-Hungarian empire held sway. Anyway, it was quite good, as were the pasta and ravioli.
We found the Internet to be available at the Helvetia, but at E 6 ($10)/hour, rather expensive. It's hard to understand why some hotels charge so much, and some provide it free. We've started using free Internet as a criterion when looking for accommodations.