This holiday proved to be a great success. A good hotel, a great location, interesting visits, great restaurants, mainly good weather and always good company. All the staff at the Hotel de France were very friendly, with Dante the bar manager (see below) always available to dispense his magic potions.
The very impressive breakfast was followed by an equally impressive turn out for the morning walk at 10.30 am, supervised by Sean. On the very first walk we came across the Miramare Market, which attracted so many of our walkers that most returned with purchases under their arms. Mid day and evening meals were taken locally, and we soon gained an intimated knowledge of the good places to go. As long as you liked fantastic Italian food, you could not go wrong.
Rep. Elena and our Paul put their heads together and arranged three great tours for us. The first was to San Marino, a duty free state, a short coach trip away. Most came back with a bottle or two, as well as the usual fridge magnets, clothing and sore feet. The second tour was to Italy in Miniature, which was very extensive, but did not confine itself to Italy alone. Ireland was represented by the Rock of Cashel, France the Eiffel Tower, Belgium by the Atom structure etc. We were able to take a boat ride through the canals of Venice, and also a flume ride in a log on the thrilling water climb, followed by the wet splash down..
Our third coach trip was to Pesaro, among other things the birthplace of Rossini. In his house we sat in the chair of The Barber of Seville, listening to music of the William Tell Overture, on their headphones. Religious festivals, Music and Opera play a large part in the dynamic of this ancient town. A fourth trip was organised by Dante, this time to Florence and under the guidance of our only Italian speaker Angela Forte. We all decided to get on the hop-on-and-off inner city circular bus tour. However with our time constraints we hopped on and stayed on for a full circuit and a bit more. The walking part at the end was even more spectacular, feasting on the building facades, and insides of many of the churches.
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