Venice and Ravenna, italy

After a long and cramped overnight flight we arrived in Venice on time and safely.  Our USAirway flight did not make Ken smile..though we had a 2seat row and he was on the aisle, there was little room between the rows.  After 8 hours though we were in Venice and made it through customs, onto our transfer bus, and on to the ship in about an hour.     We booked an aqua class room as we really enjoy dining in Blu, the specialty restaurant reserved only for aqua class passengers.  Did I mention that aqua class staterooms also enjoy special spa perks?  To add to our delight we are also Celebrity Elite passengers so we get lots of perks for this status as well.  Complimentary cocktails from 5 to 7 daily, special breakfast each morning in Tuscan Grill, free laundry(this one really brings a smile to Ken's face as he is my laundry man!) are only a few of the elite benefits.     A couple of notes about our time in Venice.  New since we were last in Venice a couple of years ago is the "people mover".  This makes it both convenient and inexpensive to get from the cruise terminal to Venice proper.  It's about a ten minute walk from the ship to the people mover monorail train.  Fare is one euro and the ride takes about four minutes into the Santa Croce area.  We happen to love Santa Croce, but you can walk to Rialto and San Marco in about 15 to 20 minutes.   I can hardly wait to get home to get my photos organized!! I took lots of photos of Venetian doors & door hardware, laundry hanging and dangling from windows and verandahs above the canals, flowers, gondoliers flexing their muscles, and of course food and wine!  Pizza, pasta, wine, and gelato in Venice did not disappoint.  We shared a pizza at Trattoria da Silvio, the Venetian pizza - tomatoes, mozzarella, olives, ham, and artichokes.  It was yummy.  We had fun in a little glass shop and got to know the owner and his daughter.  Then it was off to the Coop grocery store near Piazzali Roma to get those provisions that I didn't pack trying so hard to stay within the allowed airline luggage weight limit.   Sail away festivities were to begin at 4:45 pm at the sunset bar for our CruiseCritic group of 165.  We all retrieved our name tags and got acquainted.  Beautiful scenery, great Italian music (Andrea Bocelli), and new friends made for a memorable time.  Next on the agenda  was the elite cocktail party, then shower time, then the cruise critic party with our large group and the senior officers, followed by dinner in Blu with 6 new friends.     Just a little note about our cruise critic group:  countries represented are US, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Singapore, UK,  and United Arab Emirates so we are quite a diverse group.     My favorite from last evening's menu was the pistachio encrusted grilled scallops!  Being daring, I also had pheasant and yes it tastes like chicken.  We didn't finish dinner until after ten pm and were still a little jet lagged from our travels so I didn't hit the karaoke bar.   After a great night of sleep we awakened in Ravenna, Italy.  Breakfast of spinach tomato omelet and fresh squeezed orange juice fueled us until lunch time!  We hopped on the shuttle bus (14 usd round-trip per person) and were on the streets of old town Ravenna.  Ravenna is considered the gateway to the Emilia Romagna region.  There have been three recent earthquakes here, each resulting in some deaths so I was a bit concerned but all went well and we felt no tremors.     We saw the highlights of Ravenna, the beautiful mosaics in basilica San Vitale and the mausoleum di Galla Placidia,  Dante's tomb and then I was on a mission to find Ca' de' Ven for a lunch experience with local cuisine and wine.  I think Ken was ready to give up  but I finally found it and it was worth every moment of the search!  It's in an ancient building..enoteca vine di romagna .. Ken opted for the seafood pasta which he declared as the best he has ever had!!  Tagliatelli with clams, mussels, shrimp, calimari, langostino in a light tomato sauce.  I ordered another regional specialty, ravioli!  Yes, both seafood and stuffed pasta are both superb here.  Ken ordered local red and I had local white wine.  Oh me oh my!  I had come across this restaurant in my research so it was top of my to do list in Ravenna.     Now we are back on the Silhouette and will depart at 6 pm for Koper, Slovenia.  I'm going to zumba at 4 and then we will go to elite cocktail time, and meet our new friends for dinner in Blu at 8:30.     Love y'all, miss y'all, Hugs and kisses,  Me