Italian Road Trip Day 3 :: the Adriatic Coast & Verona

On Saturday morning we woke up in another little town in Italy, this time on the Adriatic coast.  Rimini, Elliott determined, is a beach town that primarily serves Italians and Russians.  We were the only people speaking English in that whole town, it seemed.  

That morning we woke up and grabbed a traditional Italian breakfast (brioche and a coffee) and headed for the beach outside our hotel.  It was beautiful and so peaceful in the morning.  None of us were dressed for the water, but how can you keep a one-year-old out of the sand and sea?

Weird thing to see on the beach in the morning: bodybuilding couple flexing their muscles for endless photographs.  Yikes.

Later, while Lena napped, Elliott and I discussed and then thought that we'd probably enjoy our day just as much here as anywhere.  Back to the beach after nap time! 

Lena met a crab:

 

When Lena was sufficiently tired out and ready to sleep in the car, we hit the highway towards Verona.  I had hoped to stop along the way in Emilia Romagna, a province of Italy renown for its food (spaghetti alla Bolognese, balsamic vinegar, and tortellini, to name a few).  Unfortunately my sweet baby slept through both Bologna and Modena, leaving us with no choice but to leave Emilia Romagna behind and hope for lunch sometime around 4pm upon arrival in Verona.  Oh baby!

But "lunch" sure was good when we finally got it.  We stopped in some grass by Verona's ancient city walls to savor and enjoy. 

In Verona's central piazza we found a Mother's Day fair in full swing, complete with live music, a ceramic pot-painting station (pictured below), and an obstacle course set up by the police to teach little kids out to bike safely.  

 

We visited the beautiful old castle (literally "Castello Vecchio," the old castle) in the heart of Verona.  The setting sun cast a lovely light on the river and surrounding buildings.  Easy to see why Shakespeare set Romeo and Juliet here!

 

Biking is huge in Verona.  They even have their own bike share program, just like Capital Bikeshare in D.C.!

We finished our day with pizza and drinks in a quiet piazza.  Ahhh travel... in retrospect, we do love thee!