Thursday | June 12, 2015
Our day began with a family session to plot our exploration of Rimini, which we've heard is larger and more interesting than Monopoli. One of Italy’s most popular summer resorts, Rimini is world renowned for its beaches and nightlife. The birthplace of Federico Fellini, Rimini also served as a backdrop for several of his movies.
Rimini boasts a population of approximately 140,000 people. It is famous in Italy for it it’s extremely long beach – 35 km. In fact, it is the longest stretch of beach on the Adriatic side of Italy.
In the tender dock before leaving, my daughter and aunt noted of the many plaques that line the walls.
Each time the ship enters a new port for the first time, it is awarded a unique plaque by that jurisdiction.
The tender ride was very smooth this morning.
We enjoyed a beautiful view of the huge ferris wheel that is a permanent fixture in the Rimini skyline.
When we arrived in Rimini, we were whisked away to a luxury shuttle that took us to the south end of the city where were taken aback by the Arco di Augusto.
This is the oldest surviving ancient Roman arch and Rimini’s oldest monument. It was built in 27 BC and now sits in the middle of a quaint square just inside the city’s ramparts.
It is truly beyond my human comprehension to understand that this giant arch that now stands alone, was the center of a massive fortification that walled off the entire city from the sea.
We spent the morning, and early afternoon, walking up and down the main drag, Corse Augusto. Our first stop was the Piazza Cavour, and 18th century fish market that still has its original stone counters complete with water spots. Today, it is a popular meeting place, especially for university students.
We continued to walk the entire Corse Augusto, stopping for some cute photos along the way.
Eventually, we made our way to the Ponte di Tiberio (Tiberius Bridge).
This amazing bridge is a testament to the engineering talent of the ancient Romans. Constructed under Emperor Augustus and 14 A.D., it has remain standing despite the severities of innumerable wars. This Istrian stone bridge is made up of five arches that rest on massive pillars.
In the middle of the main street, a little storefront caught my eye so we went in. It only be described as a “café chapel” – a small chapel almost disguised as a storefront and dedicated to the Virgin Mary.
I really have never seen anything like it anywhere in the world. Best of all, it was called Ave Maria, like my aunt!
We stopped several times when I saw nice things in the window I wanted to buy. At one point, we went into a gentleman shop, where I tried on several tuxedos, but found that the quality did not match the $3000 US price tag.
The focus then became ladies shoes for Nicole and when it comes to shopping, there was nothing that was going to stop these three women from finding shoes.
Eventually, we found our way to a shoe store that specializes in Italian shoes and that we had passed earlier in the day, GRL Shoes. It did not take long for my daughter to find a pair of shoes she adored.
By this point we were starved so we made our way to Pic Nic, lovely little restaurant that had been recommended by the Italian tour guide on our ship.
We had spaedini, a kebob-type presentation of shrimp, sardines, and calamari. The only “unfortunate” order was my daughter's. She ordered tortellini after the waitress assured us on three separate occasions that it contained no meat. After my daughter took a few bites, it was very clear that the tortellini with stuffed with meat. The restaurant was very apologetic and provided her with a cheese tortellini dish.
We enjoyed a leisurely stroll through the Piazza Cavour while we engaged in an enthusiastic search of a gelateria.
Once found, we each ordered a deliciously called gelato what we sat in the piazza.
There was not much to see because it was 2:00 PM by this time and, as everyone knows, Italy virtually shuts down from 1:00 PM until 4:00 PM for siesta time. I found this guy and my daughter snapped a photo.
Nicole loked so comfortable in front of these glorious red plants.
Next, we tried to get a taxi back to the tender. The local guide was very helpful and in fact, ran to a taxi at one point. Unfortunately for us, two of our fellow residents ran in front of us and took the taxi, notwithstanding the fact that we had my aunt in a wheelchair. Fifteen minutes later, we were able to get into a taxi where we went back to the tender. On the way out of the harbor, we noticed a fascinating ship – an old oceangoing tug boat that had been converted into a luxury yacht.
Once we got back to the ship, showered and cleaned up, and gathered in 907 for wine before dinner. Dinner was in Marina where the chef had specially prepared Italian artichokes waiting for us. In addition, I had ordered a rabbit and it was the most amazing preparation of rabbit I have ever had.
By the time we finished dinner, the sun had still not set. It presented a gorgeous photographic opportunity off the starboard side, so we took advantage of that to capture the moment and photographs.
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