Italy for pensioners: quiet happiness
For a vacation in September, I actively rummaged through the sites in search of a decent and inexpensive Turkish hotel. Prices have risen incredibly, we did not fit into the budget. At the moment of an agonizing comparison of the two Surals, my meek mother slammed me with a modest question: “Turkey again? Boring…". Two weeks of convulsive searches went to dust...
I freaked out and just opened last-minute tours. The first thing that caught my eye was a week in Italy for 630 euros. Air from Odessa. For two. The photo showed a narrow street with flowering trees and flowers in tubs. So, only thanks to my mother, we unexpectedly ended up in Italy.
I understand that for many advanced tourists the word "Rimini" does not cause delight: it has already been studied, tested and forgotten. For us, tourist neophytes, Rimini has become a portal to Italy. A hospitable city on the Adriatic coast, strategically close to Venice and Florence. For me, who read a book about the art of the Renaissance to holes in my childhood and read a lot of books about the Medici dynasty, it’s just a dream.
I will not describe the beauty of the Grand Canal and the height of the Brunneleschi dome. As it turned out, Venice has a strange photogenic quality - damp and shabby palaces in real life in my photographs turned into romantic palazzos against the backdrop of the azure lagoon. And the aftertaste from visiting the Silent Republic, like from an evening glass of prosecco, is light and exciting.
Florence will be remembered for a grandiose thunderstorm and hail in the Piazza Senoria: about five hundred other tourists and I hid from ice the size of an egg behind the ancient monuments of the Loggia of Lanzi. I was also struck by the filigree stone mosaic of the altar of the Medici Chapel.
The respectable republic and the dream of San Marino shoppers has become a discovery. On Freedom Square, we were treated to cold limoncello just like that by the owner of a local shop. Combined with grandiose views of the Italian hills, the sour liqueur was especially delicious.
Italy opened up for me from a slightly non-standard perspective. My mother has lived three-quarters of a century, and it is already quite difficult for her to walk. And then there is Italy. Medieval, with uneven streets and unknown routes. In a slight panic, I even considered the option of renting a stroller. I dismissed the idea - I don’t know how to transport this unit on an airplane. We took the risk to go, and did not lose.
So, how to introduce Italy to your parents. Life hacks, as it is fashionable to call it now. Or just the outline of a vacation.
City and leisure
The center of Rimini is ideal for pensioners. 15 km of sandy beach. The legs do not fall through, the sea is shallow, without stones and holes. The widest beach is well maintained and divided into zones. Each map of the beach (there are two hundred of them) - with its own sports and playgrounds, showers, toilets, changing rooms, a lifeguard. Sun loungers carefully cover the face from the sun.
An endless walking lane and a bike trail stretches along the beach. Every 20 meters there are benches. Sit, breathe, rest. Elderly couples get out of compact cars in a free parking lot and slowly stomp on a well-deserved rest. Somehow you sharply recall our lonely grandmothers in line for a certificate of subsidies. Our grandfathers usually do not live to rest...
Transport and excursions
In the evenings, a tourist tram runs through the center. We stopped at the cinematically beautiful center, saw all the local sights and were absolutely not tired. To get to know the city, you should buy a daily pass and just ride local buses - the town is beautiful.
A bus (international??! ) runs to the state of San Marino from Marvelli Square for 7.5 euros. The main thing is to have time to leave the mountainous republic before 20.00, because the country is closed for tourists until the morning. Although we went with an excursion: a comfortable bus, a guide, an excursion by tram and funicular, a descent by a panoramic elevator to the bus stop and a tasting of local wines. Lepota.
In Venice, we stopped running around with the group. I just bought a daily pass for the vaporetto, and we rode "until I want" and along the Giudecca, and the Grand Canal, and wherever my eyes looked. There are ramps along the bridges in the center, which is quite convenient. We entered the Cathedral of San Marco almost without a queue, we were incredibly lucky.
We didn't go to Florence with the group either. We walked to Santa Croce, then we got to the C1 bus stop and drove past hundreds of sights to San Lorenzo. From there take a bus to the Duomo. Then - to the Uffizi. We went to the Palazzo Vecchio on foot in a minute and fell under the hail.
Food
Depends on the budget of the trip. The most economical option is a supermarket (water for 0.22 euros and prosciutto for 1.49). But it is worth trying local goodies and appreciating the color of the cafe.
Delicate topic
There are very few public toilets. In the cafe, they ordered aromatic coffee, bought delicious ice cream, or simply asked permission to use the facilities. They never refused.
Comfort
Rimini is a flat city, without sharp rises and stairs. Elderly lords and frau gracefully saunter through the streets in carriages of various modifications. Touched by special strollers for dogs. By the way, I propose a business idea for local travel agencies: in addition to renting bicycles and electric scooters, launch a rental of wheelchairs. There will definitely be demand.
Russian-speaking pensioners feel comfortable in Rimini. There are many signs and menus in Russian in the city, sellers and waiters have mastered the “great and mighty”. In other cases, gestures and offline maps helped. At the moment when I was unsuccessfully looking for a turn to the railway station, the local lady so energetically accompanied the phrase “dritto and sinistra” with a gesture that I instantly realized that it was “straight and left. ”
I was surprised by the cheapness of the Saturday market in the medieval part of the city (locals and tourists are actively rummaging through piles of things). I was pleased with the freshness of the morning catch at the central city market. I did not photograph people intentionally - I value privacy. Although it is the people - this is Italy. Well-groomed old ladies with pearls on their bikes. Family dinner right on the street near the house. Elegant handsome men with a glass of wine. Incredibly photogenic San Marino police officers. It's just a miracle.
Hotel
I chose the hotel very carefully, looked at the map, read the reviews and “walked” the streets using Google panorama. District Marina Centro, 13 bus stop 11. In Rimini, there are many hotels without refrigerators and with paid air conditioning. Our budget Marina Hotel has a tiny room with air conditioning, a refrigerator, a safe, a hairdryer, a balcony overlooking the church spire, two comfortable beds, a wardrobe and a bathroom with a hot shower. Everything a tourist needs for a break and an overnight stay. The elevator worked. Friendly Aleksey at the reception made excellent coffee.
In the morning there was a modest breakfast, five minutes walk to the sea and the nearest supermarket. Noisy street with transport and restaurants in two minutes of my mother's walk. Along the way - pomegranate and lemon trees, olives, oleanders, magnolias. Silence. Lepota.
Rimini has the lazy vibe of a seaside resort. Hundreds of tourists in the morning lazily pull cappuccino in the morning under the fresh press. At lunch, everyone spreads to pizzerias and piadins. Sacred supper - a time of unhurried conversations under the freshest squid and aperol-syringe cocktail.
P. S. At the moment when at the next table of the restaurant I watched the meeting of elegant mother's peers, Italians and Italians, under risotto with frutto di mare and cold prosecco in an ice bucket, a clear dream crystallized in me. I want such an old age.
