Blogs from Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy, Europe - page 2

Dear Max and Dominic, Have you seen pictures of Jesus? And have you ever wondered how anyone knows what he looked like? Well, back in the 5th and 6th centuries people in the city of Ravenna made mosaic pictures of him - they were a lot closer to the time he actually lived than we are but as you can see, even they couldn't quite decide what he looked like! To start off with they didn't think he had a beard, then later they did, then they thought he might be quite muscular, then a bit heavier, then with a rainbow and dolphins for some reason, then someone gave up and made a picture of him as if he was a sheep (because his death was a bit like the sacrifice of a lamb). I must ... read more

Took the one hour slow train up the coast to Ravenna. Wanted to locate a city map so I would be able to see everything that I wanted only to find the tourist information centre was actually in the middle of the town and to get there I probably would have had to see everything I was looking for anyway. With it being slightly inland there as no sea breeze so the heat was stifling. I took a long walk round the old streets towards the Basillica and the lovely squares full of merchants houses and theatres but in thet end had to call at a café and actually sit inside to benefit from a cold drink and the air con as it was too hot to go on without refreshments. A real treat was seeing ... read more

Last night, as planned, I ventured out to watch the Netherlands play Uruguay (awesome game, btw). On the way, I passed some coaches with... FEP people, you get three guesses... Yup. Collette Vacations tour groups (for non-Fort Ed folks, these tour groups used to come through the park and were the bane of our existence whenever they'd pop by). They're everywhere. literally, I think. Fortunately, they appeared to be touring the Villa Borghese rather than headed to watch the football. As mentioned, it was quite a good game, Netherlands being the first to make it to the finals. Tonight should also be an awesome game, Spain v. Germany. Hopefully I'll be able to watch it! This morning it was up bright and early to catch a train. I decided I _had_ to see Ravenna after an ... read more

The city of the Byzantine Mosaics.... read more

The journey north from Ceccano in southern Italy to Ravenna was long but unbelievably beautiful. The countryside is very distinctly Italian, bearing more resemblance to Spain than the rest of Europe. Elaborate Italian villas lie tucked away amid lush, green, rolling hills and farmland. I gazed out the window at the hypnotic symmetry of crop patterns against a backdrop of hills and mountains. We were all eager to get to our destination - a very hip beach resort called Hanabi. We had been there earlier this year, and the beach, the staff, and the food had left a lasting impression. We arrived in Ravenna in the late afternoon and checked into our hotel in town. Ravenna is a small city with a very clean, charming vibe. After checking in we headed toward the beach and found ... read more