Last night we dined in at our hotel which was one of the recommendations in our guide notes. We shared a Spaghetti with lobsters and seafood for entree and the spaghetti was home made, very delicious. Before that course arrived however, we were each brought a little dish containing three deep fried fish balls, each about 2.5 cm in diameter and they were quite a nice intro. For main course Garth had grilled Turbot with some steamed veg, and I had a grilled Sole. All washed down with a litre of Vino Rosso di Casa between us. Cheap plonk but good, and served chilled. Afterwards Garth had a Pistachio Semi-Freddo and I had a Liquorice Parfait with a soft Lime centre - delicioso!
Today didn't start off so good. Garth had complained yesterday that he must have done one of his cycling shoes up too tight. On waking this morning he found that it was very painful to rotate his foot in a particular direction due to an inflamed tendon. We made the decision that he should rest it for a day, as well as him taking painkillers and Voltaren, so sent a message to Jozef to arrange transport in the sag wagon. Something must have got lost in the translation as, when the taxi arrived for the baggage etc, the driver said he didn't have room for two people and two bikes. (Aside: apparently the way that our baggage is transported is to send a taxi back from the next night's stopping place.).
While we were waiting for the taxi to arrive I rang Pat using my Nokia with the UK Virgin sim in it. We spoke for a few minutes and afterwards I check to see how much of my £20 initial spend is left. It turns out I still have £14+ left so it should last me until I am back in Aus.
A few phone calls ensued and Garth even said he was willing to fund a second taxi if need be. It turned out to be a storm in a teacup, however, as the taxi driver eventually said that he could fit us both and our bikes with the luggage. So goodbye to Comacchio and greetings to Ravenna.
The drive down to Ravenna, about 30+kms, was uneventful and took us down a busy road that we would not have been cycling along. Along the way in the canals and rivulets were arrangements of poles stuck out over the water with nets strung between the poles. Apparently this is a common fishing method around here. You lower the net into the water, probably by pushing a button these days, wait a few minutes and then raise the net up again (button B). Hopefully you will have caught something, eels, crabs, other fish, etc so you scoop out what you want and lower the rest back down into the water to live for another day.
Our hotel, Hotel Centrale Byron, is practically in the centre of Ravenna. We helped the taxi driver unload and then the concierge told us where to take our bikes for safety (through the laundry and behind the kitchen into a little courtyard) and then we checked in and took our stuff up to the room.
After settling in, we had a wander around for a while and then found a place for a coffee and sandwich (mine) for lunch - Garth had a brioche. After that we had a bit more of a wander and tried to spot some of the restaurants on the recommended list for tonight. We found the streets ok but could not see the particular restaurants. We might have better luck later.
Ravenna is the usual Italian combination of old and new. Old churches and towers (they have a leaning one here too - must be an Italian specialty) are mixed up with more modern buildings. In some places where we walked we came across sections of the old town walls. It was quite warm and perspiration inducing as we walked around so it was pleasant to get back to the cool of our hotel room.
Hopefully it will be a bit cooler when we got out later for dinner.
