Back

Overwhelmed by mosaic | Day 72 of my 2023 Journal

Cecilie Conrad·Mar 13, 2023

Some days on our journey are so packed that it is simply impossible to reflect on them the next morning as my 365 challenge asks for. Sometimes, I have to let time pass, just do things slowly and not focus on my inner life, just allow things to settle.

So here we are. A few days later.

Ravenna mosaics truly are special.

This is the short version. Made of stone of different colors, not painted ceramics or the like, they have sparkling and clear colorwork. We visited a baptism room with a full immersion bath in the center, a mausoleum that was used as a reflection and prayer room, and a church. All were beyond what we have seen before, especially the church.

The Basilica di San Vitale church might be the most beautiful one of all the churches we have seen. But, it is a stupid hierarchy to establish, as the European cathedrals, basilicas, and churches are very different.

What I am saying is this: The basilica is unique, the aesthetics are overwhelming, and our experience was profound. 



On top of the 3 UNESCO sites of mosaics, we visited the museum, had a vegan lunch, waked the dike and the long central historical route through the old center, had ice cream, had fun, photographed street art, visited the Japanese-style gaming and manga shop and camera cafe, and came very very tired before we met the veggies truck right next to our parked car and went out for pizza as we were too tired to cook. 



We played our new card game Similo, a game we met at the board game cafe in Paris in September last year, and had very good gluten-free, vegan pizza.

See more images and a video from the day on Instagram

Love and light

Cecilie-Underskrift-300x133

Cecilie Conrad


Thank you for reading

I would love to hear from you. Listen to your thoughts and reflections - or praise :) It is often emotional to share our lives like this, and we get very happy when we get feedback from you. So feel free to share a comment below 😋 

Unschooling and Parent consulting, conversations, blogposts, and podcasts on family life and learning

Hi, I'm Cecilie Conrad. I'm a trained psychologist, mother of four, radical unschooler and full-time traveller. I have lived with unschooling for over a decade and help other families find their own path – whether it is about homeschooling, unschooling, or the bigger question of how you want to live as a family.

I offer guidance, conversations and talks. I call my work grandmothering – not coaching in the traditional sense, but presence, professional insight and concrete help navigating motherhood and finding your way home to your own values.

Am I the right person to help you? You can book a free discovery call, and we'll talk and figure it out.

Listen to my podcasts

I share my knowledge and curiosity about family life and learning in my two podcasts.

Da Ladies - cover
self-directed-podcast

Read my latest blogposts

What if math was voluntary? What if we recognize the fact that all math, including high school level, can be learned by a motivated person in 3 month…Read more
Children are fed into the schooling machine, and inside that machine is an agenda, a vast and complex and not very transparent secret agenda called T…Read more
As my parents divorced early in my life and hated each other throughout the rest of their time, my little person became a battlefield. They would alw…Read more
Free children just live their lives and can read a room, take care of others, keep themselves clean and healthy, and create good vibes and a meaningf…Read more
And as the Vikings left Scandinavia to settle and travel all over, I sometimes feel I never really left my culture. I just built upon old traditions …Read more
We are all freedom people. This makes it all very easy. We are probably all grateful to spend time together fighting off similar demons while living …Read more
To be challenged into a comfort zone is a very healthy thing. When we do things we would normally not do, we discover new elements of our vulnerabili…Read more
The place itself is simple and beautiful, very rural. The landscape of marsh, trees, birds singing, and storks. Green beautiful springtime. The castl…Read more
When I met the community of homeschoolers, it was like walking through the closet in the first Narnia book (the darkness and Insecurity of the radica…Read more