By the Sea

Dateline: Thursday. Started our day with a nice little breakfast at our B & B (and invited one of the B & B dogs into our room for a visit - we're missing Oliver!):

Then, we set out on foot for the Basilica di San Vitale to see Byzantine mosaics – stunningly beautiful. Also popped into the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia for even more glittering beauty.

Thursday was sunny, and very windy (note the wilder than usual hair). Oh, and Denise, please note the photo with my new watch. Never mind that I'm wearing two pair of glasses below.

Ravenna is bicycle friendly to say the least. The middle of the pedestrian areas are smooth, light colored or painted bricks for bikes only. Meanwhile, us pedestrians had to walk on either side on a much rougher stone surface. People use their bikes to commute and are dressed in their work attire. Young and old, men and women, everyone peddles the streets and it is fun to watch it all. Even the mail is delivered by bicycle!

After much discussion and consulting of Rick, we decided we would head to Padova (English name: Padua) and establish a home base for the next three nights. Our plan is to venture into Venice without the burden of a car or luggage by staying outside of the city. To get to Padova, we went up the coast highway that runs alongside the Adriatic Sea. We stopped at a small beach town, which had essentially shut down and was completely boarded up, where we got out and touched the sand and the sea and snapped a few photos (and collected a few treasures!).





Back into the car and after an hour of driving, we stopped at what we thought would be a small town, but turned out to be quite big, Chioggia. We called it the little brother of Venice as it was filled with canals and little bridges.

This could have been one of the most scenic little towns we have gone through, but either they had a big party the night before and the clean-up crew failed to show up or they are all brain dead and don’t know how to use a garbage can. What litter it had.

The canals are really beautiful and where Rick Steves says that Venice’s local population is leaving or dying at a rate of about 1000 a year (and those left are mainly over 65), Chioggia had the feeling of a very alive and vibrant population even though it is the off season.

We arrived in Padova and got checked into our hotel, the Hotel Al Cason. The room numbers are printed in block letters on the floor outside of the doors - and when you enter the hallway, a series of lights turn on illuminating the way.

True confessions: We had dinner at McDonald’s and went back to our room to watch satellite TV in English! We needed a break from rustic, quaint, and old! The M & M’s are great. Hey Mike, still got that pouch?

As usual, Howard's comments are in italics.