Friday morning, Dan, Keena, and I boarded a train bound for Rimini. We got into town in the early afternoon and headed straight for our hostel. It was about 200 metres from the beach, and we were thrilled. Nate had to work that morning so he was taking a later train down. The rest of us decided to hit up the beach and do a little bar hopping.
Rimini is a beach resort town on the Adriatic Riviera, and the Italians all take vacation in August; but since this was the last weekend of August, things were starting to wind down. It worked out well because there were still plenty of people around, and our hostel wasn't as expensive as if we'd come a couple weeks earlier. There are tons of bars side-by-side, so while waiting for Nate, we tried to see as much of the town as possible.
We had asked Cheyenne to join us, but since she'd be the only girl, we didn't think she'd come. So we were surprised and delighted when she showed up with Nate. After getting them settled into the hostel, we continued our self-guided pub crawl.
We were anxiously awaiting midnight because Saturday was Keena's birthday. He just got back from the States last week, and besides his birthday, our other reason to party down is that he'll be leaving for Air Force basic training next week.
After helping Keena ring in his birthday, Nate decided he'd had too much to drink, so he and Dan headed back to the hostel. The rest of us were just getting started, though. We wandered into a club called "Life!" just as they were starting a foam party. I'd never been to one before, and it was about crazy. The whole dance floor filled up with bubbles all the way up to my chest. They were playing great music, and we danced until we could barely stand.
Saturday morning, Dan wasn't feeling too well, and opted to crash out on the beach for the day. The rest of us took the hour-long bus ride up to San Marino.
Founded in 301 AD and reportedly the world's oldest republic, San Marino is its own country, completely surrounded by Italy, and lies on top of a mountain overlooking Rimini and the Adriatic. It has a rich history, steeped in medieval traditions. It's small enough so we could walk around the border, visiting each of the towers, and seeing for miles in all directions.
It was fun walking around, learning about the culture (which isn't too different from Italian culture), and taking lots of fun pictures. We all got our passports stamped and picked up some souvenirs.
We got back to Rimini in the mid-afternoon, and had some time to relax on the beach with Dan.
After dinner, we headed back to the main drag for more bar hopping. It was almost a repeat of the night before, but this time, all of us went dancing.
We all woke up surprisingly refreshed Sunday morning. We were hoping to get to spend a little more time on the beach before catching an afternoon train, but the weather wasn't cooperative, so we decided to just head back home. Despite some train delays and flying french fries, we made it home by early evening, tired, but ready to face the week.
This trip really couldn't have come at a better time. All of us were ready for a break, and it did us good to get our minds off problems and pressures back home. We have another long weekend coming up, and despite the temptation to plan another impromptu trip, I think we'll probably just be staying home to relax.
By the way, if you'd like to see the full photostream, check this out. Enjoy!
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