Day 5: Bologna to Siena

Today, we spent more time in Catholic churches than we did in the Mormon Church -- not by choice, however. When we arrived at church this morning, they were having the closing prayer. We assumed it was the closing prayer for Sunday School, but then everyone started leaving. We asked one missionary if sacrament meeting was about to start and he said, "It just ended." Another missionary said, "Oh, does the church website still say 11:50?" Well, yes it does, but apparently it should say 10:50. So, we took a Sunday stroll through the Catholic Basilica in Bologna. Then, I took a Sunday stroll up 498 steps of the town tower while Alice waited in an air-conditioned McDonalds. Next, we took a Sunday drive to Ravenna and visited a Catholic Basilica built in the 6th century by the Byzantines. It has some fantastic mosaics that survived all these years. Then, we took a Sunday drive to Siena, where we are staying tonight. By the way, I did have bologna (mortadella) in Bologna -- for breakfast this morning. Picture 1: Basilica di San Petronio in Bologna (it was started in 1390 and the Bolognese were planning to make it bigger than St. Peter's in Rome, so the Pope diverted the funds and built the building on the left -- so the bottom is beautiful marble and the top is ugly brick); Picture 2: The 12th century tower on the left tilted during an earthquake, so the Bolognese built a taller one (which I climbed); Picture 3: Basilica San Vitale in Ravenna (the mural is all done in mosaics); Picture 4: An example of the mosaics on the floor.