A Long Drive Into Venice

Mosaic, Church of St Appollinairis in Classe, Ravenna

Before we left Assisi, we stopped at the big basilica there to see the little church originally given to St. Francis. It's tucked inside, like a nested Russian doll and complete in all its parts, right up to someone reading scripture at the altar. 

The little church

The big church

We stopped in Ravenna for lunch. The lasagna was supposed to be something special.  Instead of eating, I opted to walk over with a small subsection of our group to look at the mosaics at the Church of Saint Appollinaris. I heard the lasagne was not all that good. The mosaics were amazing.

1500-year-old mosaics - as bright and sparkly as the day they were made

We drove straight into Venice after that. Along the way, the landscape changed dramatically.

The south is all rugged limestone outcrops and volcanoes. In the middle of the country, along the Apennines, the landscape is more ancient, more rolling. But the uplifted old beyond belief stratified limestone, cranked at crazy angles, is still visible.

After that, the land goes dead flat, the soil turns into sand and suddenly there are lagoons everywhere.

The road stops. Then you're in Venice.

We took water taxis to where we boarded gondolas to wend down some small waterways while a man played the accordion and another man sang Italian standards.

After a quick stroll through St. Mark's square, we boarded another boat to take us to Lido, the island where we are staying.

We have the whole day in Venice tomorrow. 

Thanks for reading!

Karen