A full day's excursion to Ravenna - known as the city of mosaics as it has the "finest collection of Byzantine mosaics outside of Istanbul". After what I saw today I would believe this.

We had a guided walking tour of the historic centre, visiting the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia (the widow of emperor Constantine III) . Do I mention the fact that she's not actually buried here but is buried in Rome? The mosaics in this Mausoleum (dating from around 430 AD) are spectacular, as are those in the Basilica of San Vitale (UNESCO heritage listed) and the Basilica of Saint Apollinare Nuovo which we also visited. Before being left on our own to explore the old town, we stopped by Dante's tomb - he's actually buried here.

Ravenna is a university town (didn't visit this one) and obviously a wealthy town. The historical centre is car free and full of bicycles.

I tried the local panini for lunch. We were told Ravenna is famous for its panini, having originated from this area. It's just a flat bread roll with filling in it (nothing to write home about).

We sailed back to Venice late this afternoon. I have to take back my comment that the Venetian Lagoon is very uninteresting and nothing but water with no life to be seen. The bank is well and truly populated with lots going on and towns all the way from the Adriatic Sea to Venice. When we sailed up the Lagoon to the Adriatic a few days ago I was sitting with fellow smokers, looking out into the Lagoon. We didn't think to look behind us!

I gave dinner a miss tonight - sick of eating!

What I learnt today...
If there are no taps in the wash basin and the water doesn't flow when you wave your hand under the spout, look to the ground. The taps are pedals on the floor.