Sunday, December 02, 2007

The Land of Rimini, Italian Resort Fun in the Sun






On to Rimini, an Adriatic Resort town, for a few days relaxation and a quick visit to a country within a country! San Marino.

Rimini is a nice place to be. Wide avenues lined with trees, most homes Villas, beach homes for the summer.
A nice harbor for sail boats, as well as wide sandy beaches with cute bath houses owned by hotels. Bath houses with walkways to the ocean, so one won't burn one's toes in the scorching Italian sun. Spaces alloted with umbrellas and tables matching the bath houses, each color coded to show which Hotel and area of the beach you belong to.
The season was over, but I got such a kick out of the bath houses, I took a grouping of bath house pictures.
We spoke to an English couple who were on holiday and swam every day. The woman described the sea as like silk.

San Marino was intriguing to me, as one is sometimes not familiar with geography until one opens an atlas and explores. I found a wonderful picture in my Eyewitness Travel Guide to Italy, page 354 and that was all I needed to decide that this was a place to explore!

Situated on a small mountain top with beautiful panoramic vistas.

We wait for the bus at the stop to take us there, being told that tickets will be sold on board and being one of the first to be in line to assure that we will be able to take this bus and not have to wait another hour for the next.. As the crowd gathered waiting, a woman on a moped pulled up driving on the sidewalk and taking her helmet off. While all this is happening, the woman who is first in line told her husband to go to the moped. I lost something in her speaking to him in Italian, and watched thinking that it was a friend coming to join them on the short trip that we were about to make. Meanwhile, the crowd shifted to this moped that had now become a makeshift ticket booth. The moped lady had flipped the seat open to reveal a cash box and tickets. We stood there and missed the opportunity to get into this ticket line, and now people were crowding all around her we were now LAST in line!

A young girl maneuvered herself so that she became first in line. The ticket lady put her in her place. We finally got our tickets and were situated in a nice seat on the bus after all.

The whole trip this young woman was geting up and talking to the driver, we could never really figure out what it is she is needing, we go about our touring and arrive at San Marino and explore the town.

It is quite simply splendid to the eye. I had greatly desired to spend the night there but the prices were prohibitive for us on our budget. I was so glad we had not booked here. Although a very beautiful setting, everywhere we went the streets were lined with duty-free tourist shops.
I was ready to return to Rimini on the next bus leaving after touring the town.
Back at the bus stop the crowds were trippled now because it was the end of the day.

Our bus pulled into the bus area and we spied the young woman, now licking a gelato .
We felt as if we would not make the bus and as it maneuvered to park, people started to run to be one of the first to board.
Steve motioned to follow the young lady, one who obviously knew the ropes and headed around the back of the bus as it was still trying to park itself. We made a run for it following close at her heels, the correct decision as we became two of about eight at the front of the line. As the bus driver opened the door there were people passing tickets overhead including us,stretching as far as they could, tickets literally in their fingertips, as we were all separated in the rush to get into the best possible position! We were like a flock of sheep pushing to get into the bus, one by one going through the gate. The young girl/woman had lead the way and we were happy that we had followed her and were now on the bus and assured a ride back.I could only wonder what the bus driver was thinking of all of us, Italians and tourists, as he looked on. Probably that soon the tourist season would soon be over!

2 comments:

Pamela said...

I loved reading this post. I felt as though I could climb into your experience. Great writing!

Anonymous said...

Amazing photos!