Grand Hotel Primavera San Marino

... outside and walk it off. The French may think that they have the best food in the world, but Italians know.

The plan for the evening is pub crawling Italian style, in the nearby town of Aqui Terme. As with all things food and drink related Italians have this perfected. You pay for your drinks and eat as much as you want. We sip away at fine Belgian ales, while snacking on chunks of Parmesan, salami, and smoked salmon canapes.

Every bar we go to feels like an episode of ...

... still live with your parents. You can look all you want, and you can touch if you're careful, but there's no way you're taking her home.

I'm a creature of habit, when given the chance, and I've developed a bit of a daily routine. I'm now recognized by my regular vendors and greeted with a smile and a "hello!". I buy a loaf of ciabatta and a brioche from the Romanian woman, who is careful to always choose the biggest loaf for me. I get sliced meats ...

... it is perfection in every bite. Our meal is finished with a dense cake made with ricotta and lemon. A shot of a local liquor 'Mistra' is the cherry on top.

"So this is your first time in Italy?" Tanya asks "and therefore, that was your first dinner in Italy" she continues. "Well you just ate pizza in the North, so you're doing it all wrong" she laughs.
She is correct, it is wrong, you should eat pizza in Naples. But it tastes so right.

... one at the garage speaks English. We understand enough that they think it is the radiator hose and as it is now 5.30 they will only be able to look at it properly the next morning. They kindly take us to a local hotel and make sure we can secure a room for tonight.
So another night in Italy, a shower I don't need to put a token in and for the boys a TV, trying to look on the bright side.

I get back on the train, still looking for my epiphany, next stop Rimini. To do that, I've got to go up to Milano, then back down through Bologna. Italy is so narrow, you'd think that crossing it would only be a question of where. But as they say, all roads lead to Rome. That's because the Romans built all the roads of course, but small consolation for me. It's like tacking a sailboat back and forth to get where you ...

... this is simply a place of tranquillity. This would be our last day with Jo and Dan before they begin their way home - all be it still six weeks away, but they are taking a different route than us! All in all we think we have spent almost a month in their company, and the memories of our times together will last a lot longer. We ventured round the cobbled ...

... hadn't been there.
We had lunch in a pizza place. I ordered the asparagus pizza but it
turned out to be something unexpected. It wasn't that great... Lorenzo's
pizza tasted good. The cheese tasted really nice. Sally ordered a
salami pizza. Lorenzo paid for us with her mom's dining coupons. We
had excellent icecream at GROM. I was very ...

... she realized i can't talk italian, thought that i have italian blood at least (and she's right i guess). point is, i think i'll be able to beat those pickpocketers in roma now. back to rimini, it's a small city that seems to be italy's answer to nice or eilat. and this is where the italians come to vacation (next month moreso). i ate a yummy piadina for lunch (speciality of the region) and then headed to san ...

... 7 km in this case) and then finding an entrance back in the opposite direction which is never easy on Italian freeways. Incredibly, some Italian drivers were doing an immediate U-turn oblivious to the danger caused by their cars suddenly and unexpectedly stopping in the middle of the freeway, waiting for a gap in the oncoming traffic and then executing a U-turn through a maintenance ...