Saturday morning and we are off to Riccioni where there is a nice ACSI site and we will be at our last seaside place until we get back to France and meet the children. It’s funny but my father always loved to be by the sea and I seem to have caught the bug. It’s not as if I often get in but it is possible given that it is getting warmer every day.
As always with me if I am going somewhere I am up with the larks and today was no exception so we were off by 9am but as we intended to go by ordinary roads we thought we would need the extra time. Oh boy the bloomin sat-nav has tried to take me straight through the centre of the city! Fortunately I saw the sign in time and miraculously there was not a soul behind us so I was able to just roll back a few yards and take the right fork, phew. In fact the route took us all around the hills so we had a fantastic view of Florence for some time. Next it was into the mountains, not Joan’s favourite thing and as the climb got steeper and the hairpin bends got sharper so she slowly obtained that peculiar shade of green she goes when scared stiff. Not helped when I pointed out that we would have to go down on the other side, swine. Actually it was tiring driving but quite good fun especially as being a Saturday there were no heavy lorries on the road. We were at the campsite by half past eleven and raring to go and see the sea.
Bit of good news K&K are grandparents again so welcome to Baby Gabriel who was causing a bit of concern as he refused to arrive, better late than never old chap.
Oh dear, what a letdown, I was the one who wanted to see Rimini as I remembered that in the 50’s/60’s it was one of THE places to go. Well now what you have is mile after mile of private beach for residents of the hotels or people eating at the restaurants lining the coast. They want ten pounds a day to rent you 2 chairs and an umbrella and use of a shower to rinse off under! Every so often there is a public bit but it is so boring to walk or cycle along as it all looks the same. We had intended cycling to Rimini but have now decided not to bother.
Sunday was church, washing, and then a cycle ride along the front to see if perhaps first impressions were wrong, they weren’t. However we did a circuitous route in an effort to locate a supermarket which we eventually found and of course it was a lot closer to the site than we had thought, about a mile. The next day having returned and stocked up with essentials, wine, beer & brandy we set off for a longer ride via the town centre to see what shops they had. Either they don’t have any or more probably we missed them. Still this way we managed to do a fairly long ride for us and thoroughly enjoyed it.
The site we are on is quite big, really spotless and the staff so helpful and friendly, plus we have our own little amusement saga going on a couple of pitches away. A couple of days after we arrived, an old couple of Italians turned up in a lovely new car that was absolutely packed solid with gear. A lot of it was bundles of, well, stuff? When they stopped the first thing to come out of the car were some of these bundles, and then a small domestic fridge, which was plugged in followed by a table and cool box.
Next time we looked, about ½ an hour later more bundles had been put on top of the car and the couple were speaking to each other loudly while trying to assemble what appeared to be tent poles. This entailed her picking a piece up and him saying something and picking a different piece up and then both dropping them back down and starting again.
Those of you who know me will not be surprised to learn that ten minutes later I was over there and ten minutes after that the tent was up, or so we thought. Hopefully the picture will tell its story because I could go on for hours. Suffice to say one erects the frame, puts over the cover and pegs it out .................. simple, (do your own Merecat noise!).
Not this chap, to this day I don’t think there is a peg in anywhere, but he has erected over the tent a huge tarpaulin which is held up by string tied to all the surrounding trees. Amazing but good fun and they are lovely and although a conversation is out of the question, we still smile and do the good mornings/evening/day etc’s.
It was time to try the sea so we set off for a public beach and managed a short swim as it was several degrees warmer than the North Sea. On our return he has extended his ropery and we reckon she is either going to do the washing or he is going for another floor? Sadly she did the washing, but who knows.
Tuesday 8th, today Joan fulfils one of her wishes and we visit San Marino. This is very straightforward and entails buying a ticket and turning up at the appointed hour outside a hotel. Not sure what to expect we were delighted to see a double decker luxury coach with air con and plush seats. After the usual picking up at other hotels he set off and about an hour later we had climbed up to this little independent kingdom.
As we left the bus at about 3pm the driver showed us all a board with 18.00 on. Good lord what will we do until then we both asked, but we only just made it back in time as the place was amazing!
We climbed for about an hour through lovely old streets lined with shops until we reached the castle at the top where the views were breathtaking.
Joan managed to replace her diamond earrings she had lost the night before in the shower, and then of course there was a beautiful soft leather backpack she really ought to have, so she did. I got a brown belt which she said was very fair?
One of the things that really amazed me was the number of gun shops, they were everywhere selling gas operated guns & bows, plus all sorts of knuckledusters, swords, huge knives and big catapults, very strange.
After stopping for a drink and a snack at a restaurant with a lovely view we got back to the bus about 5.45. Getting back on the bus was a hoot. It had not been full so there were plenty of seats and we had managed to get back in time to be near the door waiting for the driver so we could if possible get in the front seat upstairs.
When we first arrived there was only one couple in front of us but as more started to arrive we became aware of this big fat woman who had sort of appeared at the side of me and every time she spoke to somebody she sort of rocked and her foot slid forward an inch until she was almost under my right arm! At the same time a big woman with black hair barged in front of Joan. I wish I could have filmed what happened next. As the driver opened the door they both moved but she was NOT as quick as my little Geordie girl who was on the bus and sitting in our chosen seats hotly pursued by the lady with black hair when I joined her. Full marks to the fat lady because when I got on (about fifth!), she was sitting in a seat downstairs beaming.
So there we are, we are having a great time and both of us are glad we came to the east coast. Everything has been great, the pool here is very big and of course by the time we get in has been suitably warmed as it is scorching hot and has been since we arrived. Hopefully it will follow us to Garda in a few days time.
We would like to say that we really appreciate the emails we get keeping us up to date with the news from home. Although we do not reply we hope this blog lets you know we are reading them. What we do is download them and then read them off line as internet is so expensive this year. Don’t worry about how long they are they don’t cost us a penny more than the wi-fi charge we pay anyway.
That then is 3 blogs in the last few days, just like busses none then 3 come along almost together!
Lots of love to you all
Bryan & Joan XXXX
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