To Ravenna

---

19 May 2008

We were sorry to leave Umbria. We have enjoyed its mountains, rolling hills and medieval towns (some of which we had to pass by). Hopefully we can visit at a more leisurely place some time in the future.

Ravenna, our next stop, is a city of early Christian religious buildings decorated with exquisite mosaics, bikes and rain.

Late in the afternoon we visited the Arian Bapistry and the much larger and more famous Basilica of St. Vitale. As we arrived shortly before closing, we were fortunate to have them almost to ourselves and with the help of the guide book were able to spend some peaceful time studying the fine detail. For the amateur photographer, mosaics do not photograph well because of the scale and low lighting.

A most helpful lady in the tourist office gave us complicated directions to a quiet well located car park where we spent the night.

---