June 22

I was concerned about being able to charge the batteries for my camera. We were hoping that there would be camping electric we could use but the outlets for campers were not of the sort that were useful with the adapter we brought with us. By morning I discovered an outlet in a bathroom that worked. The charger worked well and the battery that was flat collected some power back after half an hour. Not enough but would do for a few pics.

Even though we rose early it was already hot. As soon as the sun lifts over the horizon the heat is on its way up as well. I did some hand wash last evening. Most the stuff was dry enough to spread around in the car. The cotton knit shirt I was wearing seemed longer. At home drying it in a dryer keeps it from becoming a short dress. There was an amazing variety of people walking around so early. Must be the end of the party and 21-32's are leaving for home to sober up.

I had mentioned to R that it would be nice to stay inside for a day or two to heal up. We were covered with bug bites. Many of them from flies. Mine were just red and itchy but R had gobs of them. Fly bites that were swollen in red mounds about two inches in diameter that oozed from the point of fly contact with a messy yellowish chunky excrement of puss. He had been showering several times a day for the last three to keep all this in check. R agreed that when we reached Ravenna we would find the hotel we stayed at three years ago and then of course we had a hotel room lined up for Bologna. Yippie!

On the way to Ravenna we detoured somewhat as we searched for an archeological dig that was on the map but nowhere to be found as we circled and circled on narrow dirt roads. What we did find were canals with large, what seemed to be, fishing gear hanging over the canal. Oh well, so it was a dead end. At least we found our way out of the maze and drove on to our destination.

Except for the smothering heat Ravenna was a repeat of three years ago. The previous visit was in early October, 2003. The relaxed atmosphere and good art enticed us to do it all over again. Nothing had changed at the Hotel Ravenna except the price of the room. Yes, we even rented the same room with one large bed, a ceiling fan and the bathroom was down the hall.

Once we secured our dusty car in the hotel parking lot we walked over to the train station to check out the bar where we drank cappuccino on the former visit. Next we rented bicycles at the same rental business located to the right as we left the train station. R's bike was a typical basic one-speed men's rental. Mine was the similar female selection with a heavy wire basket attached to the handle bars for carrying goods from shopping. The additional forward weight made for a wobbly ride but after five or so blocks I became accustomed to the wobble and the pleasure of riding around this pedestrian and bike friendly city began.

We purchased the biglietto cumulative or the Ravenna Card, a single ticket that provides admission to the main sights, at the Basilica de San Vitale. We visited all the sights included in the ticket: Mausoleo di Galla Placidia, Basilica di Sant' apollinare Nuovo, Basilica dello Spirito Santo, Museu Arcivescovile, and Battistero Neoniano. They were as glorious as the first time. Especially San Vitale. We also returned to the mosaic school and shop where students were working on a variety of mosaic designs. Ravenna is well known for mosaics from the Byzantine Empire. More mosaics are at the Chiesa di Sant' Apollinare in Classe. We talked about riding our bikes to Classe. I vetoed that idea and then wished we had done so but we had so much trouble getting lost there and back that its good that we drove in circles once more in the car rather than on bikes. The mosaic of Christ sitting on his throne among angels is certainly worth the confusion.

After resting back at the hotel for a few minutes we walked to another hotel, Albergo Al Giaciglio, to eat in their restaurant once more. The menu for the day of course had changed after our time away but the new selection was delicious as well. After supper we walked around the neighborhood. T-V's were blaring everywhere as Italy was doing well in the Soccer world cup and every Italian apparently is a fan.