Diana Ravenna

We are on our last day in Rimini, and we're both quite glad of it. Not that we haven't had a good time (though the hostel has been a bit rubbish).

The journey down here from Munich was a real slog! It took 8 hours, though that didn't really bother us too much. 8 hours of discomfort on a cramped Italian train however, that was what made it difficult. It was a compartment style train (6 seat per compartment, 3 on each side facing each other) which seemed great when we first sat down ...

... with sweat and dirt. To top it off everywhere stinks like you wouldn't believe! The worst part about it is that I don't smell the stink as much anymore … which means that I now stink!!

So that's another way to paint it. Sounds terrible doesn't it? Well it is!!

But it's not.

Hence the dichotomy!

But alas, I seem to have found my peace and found my pleasure. Complete with all its beauty, its filth, and its contradictions and toil - this is a ...

... and patchy beard. Together we explored the magic of the city, often with long bouts of silence in between words, yet completely satisfied with each others company (I supose I should only speak for myself – but he seemed happy. lol!)... He was like my own personal tour guide, leading us through the streets and metro stations like a local, with total patience - as all the Italian shoe stores seemed to hypnotize and lure me in! (Sorry Jen - haven ...

... Mozzarella.... wie imm** ;-)

Sarah - hat als Probe für das "Promidinn**" nächste Woche den Rest üb**nommen.

Paps - ...ein** muss ja auch essen - od** ?

Das Menü: - Vorspeise: Caprese
Hauptspeise: Spagetti mit Basilikum Pesto od** mit Olivenöl
Nachspeise: "die Ecke des Monats "

Geschmeckt hat´s jedenfalls h**vorragend !!!! ... und nichts ist ...

... she told me a story about a young US soldier that parachuted in around Firenze. My details are a bit fuzzy, I’m not sure if bailed out of a plane or was part of an invading force, but he apparently was alone and shot and killed by the Nazi’s. I believe she said that the Nazi’s waited until he landed to kill him. They then either left the body or the Italian’s just took it, but somehow the Italian’s got the young soldiers ...

... photos and memorabilia of Rossi’s career and along with the other geeks we checked it all out. Across the road was the Official Rossi Fan Club headquarters and we strolled in to see his bike which he won the 125’s on and lots of career photos. We joined the fan club for 40 Euros each which gave us a t-shirt,cap and bumbag and keyring. The people there also gave us posters hearing we had come from Australia and been to the races. We were stoked ...

... Euros was annoying. The '50 minutes' late sign went up and I was annoyed. Suddenly the appropriate platform number appeared. Platform 3. Off I went to Platform 3 to catch the train. I arrived at the Platform to see the train pulling out. The bloody thing wasn't 50 minutes late. It was only 45 minutes late, only they forgot to tell the driver that he needed to hang around for a few minutes to pick up the passengers. Back into the ticket queue, I am ...

Got the wake up call at 7, but didn't get up and going til 8:30. We ate breakfast and we walked toward the Basilica Di Sant'apollinare Nuovo. It was a typical italian church, but it had lots of mosaics. These mosaics must have taken a crapload of time to dol. Each piece is made of gladd and many different colors too. It's way too much work for todays craftsmen ...