Relaxing in Rimini

We're having a fabulous time in Rimini.  It's a beach town off the Adriatic Sea.   It's not really beach weather time, but we're still enjoying ourselves.

We had our first experience with being harassed by men on the bus.  Nobody touched us, but an old man kept yelling something  loudly and repeatedly at us.  Per Google, it translated roughly to "cheese whore."  It was both funny and unsettling.  Luckily he got off the bus before we did.

Our hotel is right on the beach!  It's the off season, and we got an amazing deal on the room. We're pretty sure we're the only guests right now.

We walked along the beach and watched this dog play in the water.  He was having a great time digging and running in the surf!  It was a bit chilly, but we were able to sit in the sand and enjoy some people watching.

Of course, we had to have our daily gelato and coffee.

Rebecca had an espresso.  I think she likes it. :)

Cathy had a cappuccino.

Next, we stopped at a grocery store to pick up a few snacks.  We did not buy this, but we were curious what made this cheese like substance "special toast".

That was pretty much it for that day.  We were pretty dang tired from all the Florence stuff, so we made a choice to have a few days relaxing.  We also did some yoga- this one for our calves, and this one for our back.  It made a HUGE difference- I'm linking them here just so I have them in the future.

We had planned to eat dinner at the gluten-free hotel restaurant, but that is not open in the off season.  Surprise!  It was fine- we snacked on our grocery store foods.

We got up the next morning ready to go to the castle!  The front desk lady gave us great directions on how to get there on a walking path.

There was a dog park along the way.

There was this very old arch- here's some great history on it.  It's amazing to think that it has stood there since 27 BC!

                                        

The castle was closed on Mondays, but it was a nice walk and we got to see the outside of it.  Here's some information about the castle.  Cathy really liked this door.  There was a brick wall behind it.

There were lots of pigeons, but this one was our favorite. 

These lemons were growing outside someone's apartment, the same way you'd have an herb garden or a small patio tomato.  Lemons.  Like it ain't no thang.  Cathy was possibly way more impressed than she should be.

On the way back, we noticed lots of stickers on telephone polls and the like. Here's two of our favorites:

There were also pretty flowering plants everywhere.

And rat traps. Don't forget about the rat traps.

Rebecca modeled this red...frame (?) for us- I thought the picture turned out nicely.

And this historical looking item.  Rebecca modeled it for us.  Note the guy in the lower right- he was playing the accordion, which made the visit to this square have a real movie feel.

Cathy was there too.  It had been raining.  My little purple jacket has come in handy on this trip!

It has been a quiet two days, but we're headed back to hectic Florence tomorrow!  We rented an apartment for the remainder of our stay, and will be taking day trips to several destinations from Florence.   We think this is a brilliant plan, but time will tell if we are right on this one. :)