carolethecatlover

Down the Adriatic coast from Ravenna are a series of small towns. These are the 'Lidi' or resort towns where Italians flock in summer. Some, like Milano Maritimo are very trendy indeed, and some, like Rimini, used to be the 'in' place, but have become overcrowded and expensive. Cesenatica is between the two, it lives for the tourist Euro, but seeks to be quaint rather than trendy. This is a port designed by Leonardo da Vinci, the original plan drawn by the great master of ideas still exists. Unfortunately, the sea moved outwards, and the defensive tower he planned and the canals are rather more inland, so much for global warming, only 500 years ago, the seas were so much higher in the Adriatic. Nevertheless, it remains an interesting town with a museum of fishing. This ... read more

Ferrera seemed to be close and there was a trip organised by the school. Nobody showed up. So on the Sunday, I went by myself, a 4.90 euro train trip. I managed to stamp the wrong ticket, and get all the times of the return trains wrong. That didn't stop it being a most memorable visit. Ferrera is consistently voted into the top 3 most liveable cities in Italy. It is not hard to see why. It has about 130,000 inhabitants, and all of them ride bicycles. This city doesn't have car parks, it has bicycle parks. This is the city with the most bicycle journeys undertaken by its inhabitants. It is walkable, surprisingly touristfree, and for any event likely to draw a crowd, free buses are laid on. On the 3rd Sunday ... read more

This is Italy, so all the men are good looking and clean and well dressed. Every one of these gorgeous creatures would be considered "metrosexual" and his sexual orientation very suspect in Australia.....mmm....most of them are married, and ride bicycles with baby seats, just in case you don't get the message.There is a belief in the land of Oz that Italians are fat. Not true...not here, anyway. They walk and ride bicycles everywhere I tossed a coin and went to Italy to learn Italian, Portugal and Portuguese was too near to the awful kids and much worse monitors in this year's camp. As a teacher of English, there are a few things that are constants in a good place to learn English. The same should apply to Italian I thought. The city should be small and ... read more