Yet another enjoyable weekend! What an authentically Italian experience I had, listening to beautiful Italian in conversation (which to my dismay I didn’t understand), eating pasta with every meal, and seeing what life is like in a beachside town in Emilia-Romagna, Italy. I was graciously hosted by Jonathan Benatti and family, and boy, did they take good care of me – walking me through local markets, the beach, around the old part of town, and welcomed in their day-to-day activities. I gained some culinary knowledge from Mrs. Benatti on real Italian cooking during me time there too. Needless to say, I’m looking forward to trying some new tricks with my homemade pizzas when I return home.
Jonathan included me in his school day also; I was able to visit his school in Forli where he studies aeronautical engineering and is working toward obtaining his masters degree. One of the nights, he invited me to join him and his friends in a game of Texas Hold ‘Em. (Unfortunately, I didn’t hold my own, but I was able to win a few rounds when we played 5-card poker – what they call “European” poker) I enjoyed meeting his friends, and was a little sad that is wasn’t summer, because I would really have liked to play soccer and volleyball on the beach with them. One morning, however, I took the opportunity to run alongside the Adriatic on the boardwalk. What a gorgeous body of water; the run was memorable as I could see down the coast, distinguish each brightly colored hotel and building along the beach, smell the fish and saltwater, and hear the waves washing up on the sand.
As Jonathan took me around Rimini, there were several things that reminded me of a Northern Californian city, but missing the hustle and bustle. Perhaps the feeling in town is different in the off-season, when I visited, nevertheless, the foliage was very similar, the streets, and various store fronts were reminiscent of a Carmel.
Rimini itself is quite young; for many of the buildings were destroyed by Allied bombs in WWII. There still are, however, remnants of Roman walls, a medieval castle, and a couple of Renaissance-era buildings. What still gets me in Italy, especially, are the unexpected churches that you come upon, or Roman arches that just lie at the end of a street, and how that is just a part of the country’s history and a typical part of the Italian landscape.
Rimini itself is quite young; for many of the buildings were destroyed by Allied bombs in WWII. There still are, however, remnants of Roman walls, a medieval castle, and a couple of Renaissance-era buildings. What still gets me in Italy, especially, are the unexpected churches that you come upon, or Roman arches that just lie at the end of a street, and how that is just a part of the country’s history and a typical part of the Italian landscape.
Rimini was greener and quieter than the cities I had previously visited in Italy. I got to try my first roasted chestnut, and also some piada (a local favorite of meat, cheese, pumpkin stuffing in a flat-bread/tortilla that was very good).
Thank you Benattis for allowing me to be a part of your lives in Rimini!
Thank you Benattis for allowing me to be a part of your lives in Rimini!
Ciao!
