Anna and her five children, accompanied by Signor Zandiri and Toinon, left the familiar city of Padua in two hired carriages—one for luggage, one for passengers—and took the road to Vicenza, their first stop on the long, uncomfortable journey across Europe. It would take them three to four days just to reach the end of Venetian territory, which extended westward all the way to the city of Brescia and a little beyond. Then they would travel through the Duchy of Milan and the Kingdom of Piedmont, make the arduous crossing of the Alps, descend toward Lyon, and finally head straight north for Paris. It was a daunting prospect, and not just because of the length of the journey (three to four weeks) and the size of the party. The cramped circumstances and the loud clatter of the carriage as it sped along the uneven dirt track made travel by coach an exhausting experience. The posts along the road, where horses were changed and the passengers could stretch and take a breath of fresh air and have a meal, were often rather seedy places.
