Comfort level is so defined by familiarity. The hostel and campground here in Parma is inside the city park, a place where people do normal things. They don't sell tickets to museums or attend cute little ceramics shops, they sit against a wall and talk with friends. They jog and ride bicycles, watch their children play.

I have made it here in time to witness the after-work rituals of a city. An old man sits on a bench reading the newspaper like old men do in parks everywhere in the world. A couple walks by with a toddler in tow on a tricycle, the other on the father's back in a metal-frame backpack with a roof so the precious one daren't get the sun in his eyes.

It has been a long day of riding. From Assisi in Umbria I headed to Ravenna to see the mosaics which are spectacular, though the ride was difficult, windy and cold.

The 548 A.D. Basilica di St. Vitale has been called the most glorious example of Byzantine art in the West. The dome is astounding. It was frescoed in 1780 by Bolognese artists Barozzi and Gandolfi and by Guarana from Venice. Names that mean nothing to me now, but as I live and travel and learn, may become as important to me as Monet... maybe.

In the same view as these frescoes of figures that might take flight around the basilica at any moment are these mosaics made from the tinyest of pieces of stone and jewels and precious metals. They are so fine that at first I believed they were paintings, but paintings do not glow like this. The dome was covered in scenes, including this one of Jesus floating on a blue globe and next to the frescoes the whole thing was quite dizzying.

I wandered this building and the accompanying tomb which was dark but glowed with mosaic work, and by then all the other monuments in Ravenna were closed for the traditional three or four hours at lunchtime. So I headed west, feeling unwilling to wait and pressed for time as I am supposed to be in Mandello del Lario near the Swiss border on Sunday, to take a ride with Marcello and the next day visit the Guzzi factory and return it to its home.

Hence, Parma. A city that wasn't on my itinerary. Funny how that always happens. Riding through town on the river road I found it lively and beautiful, with lots of shops and cafes and gelaterias, and kids hanging out and couples walking. The weather has been beautiful here, unseasonably warm, perfect for traveling and, I suppose, living. The Lonely Planet said there was a hostel and campground in the park so I headed there and have set up as the only visitor in the hostel and have had a nice walk in the park, thinking that this could be a nice city to live in. This city and Lucca with its three mile wall that you can walk along the top of.

Of course, Lucca is near the sea, and these thoughts are silly because I'll never really live in Italy, though it sure is fine to pretend.

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