So after much discussion and research we finally decided to go back to Italy for a 10 day trip for our 5 year anniversary. There were cheap flights into Bologna so we headed there. First stop, after our flight being delayed more than an hour and having to wait for a very late train out of Bologna, was Ravenna. Any art history major knows that Ravenna is a must see place for Byzantine mosaics. Matt being the indulgent husband that he is agreed to some very artsy first few days. Happily, this is a lovely little town that is laid back and easy to navigate so we go to relax and enjoy some beautiful sights. Our hotel was little outside the city center but they hired out bikes to the guests so we grabbed a couple of those bad boys and pedaled around town quite easily. We saw all the "major", aka, UNESCO, sites. The mosaics, although most were restored, were still beautiful and something glorious to see. The colors were vibrant and really made you stand and stare for a while. It's always funny to go into a church and see everyone looking up with their mouths hanging wide open! We really enjoyed this town and ventured to the neighboring one to see the most famous church (regarding Byzantine art) of all, Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe. The road was nice and flat so it was and easy bike out to it. Unfortunately when we got there they were closing for a funeral for about 1 hour so we biked around town some. Happily, we found the BEST gelato of the trip. Too bad it was on day 1 right? That gelato is now the standard of all gelato in our life.
The old gate entrance to Ravenna.
So much color!
So much gold too!
Look at the beautiful detail! All done with tiny mosaic tiles-so much work!
Inside a mausoleum. Love the "stars."
As always happy to see pretty sites!
Matt wanted to experiment with his artsy photo style too ;)
Our fearless steeds, I mean bikes.
Saint Apollinaire. It is HUGE!
He's so hard core-show those bushes who's boss!
Our future door-knocker. We saw tons of these all over the town.
We brought the tripod and wireless shutter-release to play some. Not too shabby huh?
Ravenna was a great first stop on our trip. In some respects it would have been great to end here though too since it was so quiet and peaceful. After the end of the trip and some reflection we decided we did the route backwards but oh well-it was still great!
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