Ravenna visit #1

Last week, we trekked out to visit a few places with our holiday company.  Ravenna was one of the towns we visited.  After a quick train ride, we landed at the highly recommended restaurant "Ca' de vin" (www.cadeven.it).  They were very gracious with our 10-person group, seated us quickly, and had food on our table shortly after we arrived...It helped that we arrived shortly before closing and we had called in advance to try to set up a reservation, but my call dropped (blasted cell  phone gremlins).  I really liked the Piadina with prosciutto that many recommended.  The pasta was really good, the potatoes divine, and the ambiance awesome.  The 15th century beauty of the locale was so very neat to experience. 

Pianogurl and one of the ornate frescos in the "Ca de Vin"...good eating!

After our stomaches were filled, we made our way to the historic basilica Sant' Apollinare in classe (dating back to the 6th century).  In addition to its historical richness, this cathedral is also known for its mosaics tied to the Byzantine empire.  Super cool to see.  

Looking towards the altar in Sant' Apollinare in Classe in Ravenna

A section of the mosaics on the wall.  There are tons.  It's hard to believe all this was built with no "modern" technology.

Painting on the ceiling in Sant' Apollinare

A portion of the ceiling in Sant Apollinare

From there, we made our way to the local "Museo Arcivescovile." We weren't allowed to take photos inside the museum but there was a super cool mosaic inside (small cathedral).  I liked it more than Sant' Apollinare because it was smaller, I was much closer to the mosaics and could more easily admire the artistry of them. (www.webdiocesi.chiesacattolica.it/pls/cci_dioc_new/consultazione.mostra_pagina?id_pagina=28651).  It was about a 12 to 15 minute walk from Sant' Apollinare.  We didn't get all the time we wanted to have in Ravenna because it took us about 2 hours to get parked before we even got to the train station in Ferrara.  Nevertheless, we had fun living the adventure that is Italy and we found the good "free parking" area near the train station.  Among other things, Dante (the author of the famed "Inferno" is buried in Ravenna...we also walked past the theater named after him....three times.