Rimini - Days 4 and 5 and 6 - Life’s a beach (but at least we’re all socially distancing!!)

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For our final day in Rimini we had booked a couple of sun beds and an umbrella on beach 21, the section allocated to our hotel. As the majority of this day was spent at the beach, where I had my eyes closed most of the time, I have merged today with tomorrow’s trip to Bologna and the following day - our journey home, otherwise the day’s blog would probably be ending after the next few paragraphs.

We arrived at around 10:30 and were taken down a narrow boardwalk toward the sea. We were shown to a couple of sunbeds on the front row. These were ours for the day. We could come and go as we pleased. This is a highly organised business as there was an attendant at either end of the beach, making it very difficult to sneak in without paying (as if the thought had ever crossed my mind!!) A few weeks ago, during a rare heatwave in the UK, we were two of the many who were tut tutting at the disgraceful scenes coming from the beaches of Southern England which looked full to bursting with families who had completely disregarded Government recommendations and regulations set up for the benefit of the Populus and to protect the NHS. Social distancing totally ignored for a few selfish precious hours of sun and sand. We now found ourselves in that very position playing in the sand and very much in the sun!! However, there are over 15km of beach in Rimini. The beaches are strictly controlled and well spread out. Despite a fee, it was still very busy but each set of sunbeds were at least four to five metres away from the next. Even those who ventured in to the sea seemed to be keeping to their own space. Whilst face coverings weren’t being worn on the beach, most people were wearing some sort of protection when entering and exiting said area.

Some years ago, we befriended a head waiter who worked for Princess cruises and we have now sailed with him on several occasions. We even met him at the Pier Head in our home town of Liverpool when the Crown Princess called in for the day. He lives in Rimini and we had agreed to meet up for a coffee to reminisce the good times and discuss, even speculate, the future of cruising. I had recently messaged Davide to advise him we were free this afternoon or this evening. He immediately messaged me back to confirm the name of our hotel. Since I reaffirmed to him that we were staying at the Residence Hotel Parioli, all had gone very quiet. It was possible he was busy but quite strange I had not had a reply.

Before dinner we walked across to Parco Federico Fellini, a short walk from our hotel along the promenade in the opposite direction to where we had walked for the past few evenings. A cool breeze coming in off the Adriatic was keeping the humidity in check. The park was named after one of Italy’s most famous sons and visionary film director of such classics like La Dolce Vita. The small park is split by a road running through its central core, most of which is now pedestrianised. Daubed on this road in a multitude of colours and in sixteen-foot letters were the words: BLACK LIVES MATTER. This is obviously a universal phrase, written in English, but understood by all…. otherwise the writing would have said: LE VITE NERE CONTANO!! Difficult to spot if you’re just walking past so would have little impact but should you be flying overhead?? In the near distance, the Rimini Ferris wheel came in to view. Now I’m sure this was not named after Pam Ferris, the acclaimed British actor. The Rimini Eye, as its known, stands 55m high accommodating twenty-eight capsules capable of carrying 168 people for a panoramic feast of the Rimini Riviera. The London Eye, by comparison stands 135m high yet only has thirty-two capsules, four more than Rimini but can carry 800 people at any one time. Either way I looked at Roisin, she immediately knew what I was thinking as out of her mouth came a resounding ‘No’!! (That’s just a summary of what she actually said!!)

Over dinner, I received a message from Davide. It was now shortly after 9pm. Unfortunately, he was still working so would not be able to meet up this evening and as he knew we were leaving tomorrow wanted to know if we had time to meet tomorrow morning. As our train was at 9am this was not possible. I managed to have a brief conversation with him over the phone. Due to the pandemic, his future with Princess Cruises remains uncertain which is a shame as he was one person who took pride in his job and enjoyed the life style immensely but reading between the lines I think he may be torn between a life at sea and his family. This is the dilemma faced with most of the crew members we have spoken to, especially the lower paid ranks. However, it is more than they would earn in the Philippines or Indonesia so the job is just a means to an end.

The train journey to Bologna took 1 ½ hours. We lived it up by travelling this leg of the journey first class as we gota2-4-1 deal and it was only a euro dearer than standard class. However, the first-class carriage was no more comfortable than the standard class carriage (i.e. very comfortable!!) the only diference that I could see was a plug socket!!

The 4-star Hotel Una was literally across the busy road from Bologna Central railway station. We arrived at reception (all masked up, as required) at 11:15am. Check in was not until 2pm but our room was all ready. Thank you Covid 19 and social distancing!! (I never thought I’d be saying those words) All rooms were made up and utilised but as the hotel was only operating at 70%!c(MISSING)apacity due to the pandemic, rooms were available that were not used the previous evening thus ready for occupation. The hotel was designed in a modern style, in fact I would continue to say too modern as the door to our room has an integrated pattern to the wall of the corridor and lacked any sort of door handle. We almost walked past it but for the enormous number 305 on the hall carpet!!

One of the criteria for booking accommodation nowadays is internet access so whilst Roisin was unpacking and checking to see if the room supported a decent hairdryer, I was prioritising and checking the wifi connection!! Registration was required consisting only of name and email address. Press enter. Nothing! The whirling cursor remained whirling for several minutes before the words appeared that everyone hates to see: ‘Page cannot be found’!! I tried several times with the same result. So, it was back to stage one. I checked the available networks. Hello? The Star Hotel. That is next door to us. It says Open. What harm will clicking on it do? Oooh, a registration page. What happens if I enter my name and email address? Send. A fresh page immediately popped up: Welcome to the Star Hotel. You have successfully connected to the Internet. Victory is mine!!, then it dawned on me. I wonder what the penalty in Italy was for hacking!! As it turned out, I had more success than Roisin as the hairdryer she had found in the bathroom was about as much use as an ashtray on a motorbike!!

When visiting a new town, especially if we only have a limited amount of time, such as here in Bologna, we always try to head for the main square. The surrounds thereof, will normally provide a flavour of the culture and history of the place. Today was no exception. The hotel provided directions to Piazza Maggiore (Major Square – very creative in naming, I don’t think!!) It was a little over one mile, straight out of the hotel door, right along to the next traffic lights then right again and straight down Via dell’Indepenzienta. It was warm and Roisin was wishing we had taken another route for reasons that will become clear in a moment. If a homeless person also knew what was about to happen, he would have ensured that he (and his begging bowl – especially his begging bowl) were on the other side of the street, or even better, the other side of town (just to be sure!!)

Most of Via dell’Indepenzienta is shaded from the sun as the buildings overhang the pavement. The overhang is supported by columns and pillars in a network of archways creating an arcade like ambience of the shops and stores below. The street was busy with people going about their daily routine. Although not pedestrianised, the distinct lack of vehicles at this particular time on a Saturday afternoon gave this particular street in this particular city a quiet and relaxing feel. I noticed Roisin adjusting her face mask when suddenly the sound of an explosion of coins bouncing and rolling in all directions broke the silence. My instinct was to turn my head in the direction of the epicentre just in time to see a homeless person’s begging bowl flying through the air. The begging bowl was no more than a transparent plastic cup but nevertheless, still someone’s livelihood!! I turned my head further to see the homeless person kneeling on the pavement, looking, dumbfounded, as his next meal became further away than he thought it was!! There was no ranting, cussing or gesticulating and waving of the arms the way only Italians know how, just a state of shock. Yes, in those few seconds of adjusting her mask, Roisin had taken her eye off the ball (but not the begging bowl it seemed!!) She had not just knocked the cup over but, taking it in her stride, had wellied it on the half volley with such force Mohamed Salah would have been proud of. I suggested we picked up the pieces but the damage was done. Reluctantly we picked up the pace and carried on walking. According to Roisin, it was, of course the homeless persons fault for leaving a transparent cup on the pavement. I also blame covid-19 for making us wear a face covering and also the hotel receptionist for sending us up this street in the first place!!

Piazza Maggiore is dominated by the rather plain looking Palazzo Re Enzo occupying centre stage. The Palace is nothing more than a jail and takes its name from Enzio of Sardinia, who was imprisoned here for twenty-two years until his death in 1272.

In between the jail and city hall is the Fountain of Neptune, a fine example of 15^th century renaissance art. What is more astounding and little known is the number of ammonite fossils that can be seen embedded in the limestone steps surrounding this work of art. These extinct group of marine invertebrate animal with their squid-like tentacles extending from their distinctive multichambered shells survived three mass extinctions. However, they haven’t been around for 65 million years strangely enough round about the same time the dinosaurs vanished!!

Walking through an alley that dissected the jail, we ventured down Via degli Orefici that then become Via Caprarie with its wall-to-wall restaurants and trattorias. Unfortunately, this was a little further afield to wander for dinner than we wanted. It’s nice to know that we wouldn’t starve though in case we needed a back up plan. Unlike a certain homeless person, who at that very moment was likely searching for his euro cents that had rolled to every corner of Via dell’Indepenzienta!! We were now well and truly in the old town for standing in front of us were Torri Asinelli e Garisenda or simply known in English as the Towers of Bologna. Bologna used to be full of towers. These two are survivors of medieval times. The purpose of these towers is unclear. It is thought that the rich just liked building them because they could. The higher the tower, the richer you were purported to be. By todays standard these towers are no more than penis extensions. In the photo, the guy on the right, although seemingly wealthier obviously had a smaller cock!!!

On the way back to the hotel we meandered through some of the narrow passage ways and cobbled streets until we linked back up with Via dell’Indepenzienta although walking on the opposite side so as to avoid any unnecessary confrontations re earlier events!! We passed a statue of an Italian hero – the only Italian hero named after a biscuit: Giuseppe Garibaldi. He was responsible for helping to unify all the Italian States.

Our train to Venice was at 9:00. Roisin suggested we have breakfast at about 08:10. Similar to Roisin driving up mountain road with a sheer drop, I have a phobia of being late. Wow! I thought. That’s cutting it a bit fine. So, we have to have breakfast, get our stuff together and check out before heading to the train station all in fifty minutes. As if she was reading my mind, Roisin said, ‘Don’t fret! The station is literally across the road.’

‘Yes, but what if breakfast service is slow? What if there is a queue at check out? The station may be ONLY across the road but what if the pelican crossing is stuck on red?

‘It won’t be. We have plenty of time’, Roisin replied.

‘OK’, I retorted. ‘Next time we’re on a bus I’ll say to you, ‘It’s only a little mountain!!!’

As it turns out breakfast service was excellent. There was no queue at check out and our bill was waiting for us. Even the pelican crossing was on our side and changed to green as we approached.

We checked for our train – Platform 16. The furthest corner of the station!! The signs took us down escalators then a further walk along a walkway, across a small concourse before we headed down another escalator. We arrived on the platform at 08:50 – I can’t see what all the fuss was about. We had plenty of time!!! We had reserved 1^st class on this train as it was only a few quid more. For that, we had a carriage to ourselves and a snack, water and coffee and emergency pack with hand sanitiser and a surgical mask!!

The journey from Bologna to Venice was pretty uneventful except when we pulled in to Padua. I thought a Mother Theresa lookie--likee competition had hit town. Three nuns were gathered on the platform wearing the white habit and blue and white headscarf associated with the saintly nun and missionary.

At the airport, EasyJet are insisting that all passengers wear a face covering. Not only that but they have to be the disposable type. Washable and reusable aren’t acceptable. This we knew, as in Manchester, I was told to swap my reusable mask at the bag drop. It is still being enforced as a couple were stopped at the gate and not allowed to proceed until they had switched masks.

Snaking our way through the line at UK Immigration, officers were shouting out, ‘Has everyone completed a locator form?’ A few people who hadn’t were pulled to one side. Luckily, we had read the Gov.UK terms before travelling to Italy and whilst Italy are not on the UK’s ‘naughty’ list, a locator form has to be completed anytime within 48 hours of travel. This can then be downloaded on to your smartphone. We had to present this to the UK Border Force on entry before being allowed to proceed.

I was of the opinion, based on previous pandemics, this would all be over by Easter!! (although I didn’t go as far as suggesting everyone drink bleach!!) I admit I was wrong. No doubt that the world is changing but we can’t hide away and stop living. By that I don’t mean to become irresponsible and slap dash. Everyone still has a duty of care for their fellow humans whether you know it or not and ignorance is no excuse. This short break in a faraway land has made me realise that we can adapt to whatever mother nature throws at us. Will we come out stronger? Probably not but there is no reason why we can’t reach a ‘new’ normality and enjoy its benefits as we did before.

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