Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Ravenna was a high point on which to end our long journey.  On Wednesday morning we took a train to Bologna, and from there a fast train south to Rome’s central terminal, and from there an express train to Leonardo da Vinci International Airport. We flew out at 10pm and arrived at Dubai before sunrise the following morning.  We spent two nights in Dubai looking around and catching up with daughter Jane who works as an Emirates flight attendant.  I don’t know where she got the travel bug from. Then we came home.  There’s always something deeply satisfying about arriving back home after a long time way away. It’s an integral part of the pleasure of travel.

Ravenna, Italy

From Venice we took a train south to Ravenna.  Not one of the most well known Italian cities, Ravenna is nevertheless an outstanding showcase of art, history and culture.  From the 5th to 8th century AD, Ravenna was in turn the capital of the Western Roman Empire, of King Theoodoric of the Goths, and of the Byzantine empire in Europe. It’s now a world heritage listed location, primarily because of the astonishing 5th and 6th century mosaics that adorn the interiors of several of its ancient buildings.  We’ve seen mosaics before, but never mosaics like this.  Fine, big, bright, and seemingly as dazzling as the days they were painstakingly designed and assembled by prodigious talents 1,500 years ago!

In Ravenna you can also visit Dante’s tomb.  We did.  Dante found himself on the wrong side of some nasty politics and was exiled from his hometown of Florence, facing burning at the stake if he returned without paying a large fine imposed upon him.  This he refused to do on principle, and he ended his days in 1321, in Ravenna.  The penitent Florentines continue to this day to provide the oil for the small lamp that burns above his tomb.

Venice, Italy

Legend disgorged its 2,500 passengers, including us, in Venice on Saturday morning.  Time once again to fend for ourselves. We checked into a hotel at Mestre and spent the following day wandering around Piazza San Marco, the canal-side alleyways, and a couple of nearby islands, Murano and Burano.  At the former we admired the extremely beautiful but oh-so-expensive glass pieces displayed in the canal-front outlets.  The artisans were on hand to explain how they’d made each piece; this helped to rationalize the asking prices but even so, the thought of dropping a 300 Euro plate was too much to contemplate.

Many cities are a variation on a theme, but there’s only one Venice.

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Dubrovnik perched on the Adriatic Sea has been on our visit ‘wish list’ for a long time. And yesterday we finally got there. The old city is everything claimed about it. Its setting is truly sublime; its buildings beautiful with the sum much greater than the parts. The ancient encircling city wall is perfectly preserved, making for an excellent hike to admire the city from all perspectives. We did just that, then found a waterfront cafe to order fresh sardines, salad and bread for lunch. What a place!

Messina, Sicily, Italy

Legend docked for a day in Messina on the Italian island of Sicily.  Many passengers boarded buses to visit Sicilian villages featured in the classic 1970s movie The Godfather.  But having been on the go for many weeks we were content just to stroll around Messina itself, a pleasant enough town in its own right.  Around noon a crowd gathered in front of the town hall clock next to the cathedral, and as soon as the clock struck 12 the tower followed on with quite an impressive performance.  The large gold lion at the top kicked things off with a few credible roars, then the rooster below crowed for a bit, and finally a full-length rendition of Ava Maria burst forth from the audio system while a procession of religious sculptures circled past an opening in the tower and was revealed to the crowd below.  The crowd liked it all, and we did too.  A pleasant, if slightly offbeat, interlude.

The air was warm, the shade was welcome and the coffee was good.  We lingered with other visitors at the sidewalk cafes, watching the comings and goings in downtown Messina. It was a friendly, laid-back place, and the few hours had no trouble passing.