Countless people told me to skip Rimini. I heard a lot of harsh reviews. It’s too crowded. There’s nothing there. It’s the Jersey Shore of Italy. I believed them for awhile. I mentally crossed Rimini off of the list of places I wanted to visit and carried on with my study abroad experience.
I was studying in Bologna, a city that often gets overlooked by tourists or even worse, unwarranted harsh criticism as a “skippable” city. It did not take me long to realize that Bologna was beautiful city with a lot to offer travelers- especially students. I spoke of Bologna so strongly and always encouraged people to go off the beaten path and give the city a chance. I came to believe that, while Bologna and Rimini, though close in distance, are two very different cities, they are similar in that they are both cities that defy expectations.
I went to Rimini on a whim after a day trip to Ravenna. My friend Isy and I finished up our day in Ravenna but we weren’t quite ready to end our adventure. We were sitting on a bench outside a gelato shop and decided we wanted to go to a beach. Next thing we knew it we were on the train to Rimini.
While the first part of our day was filled with blue skies and sun, on the way to Rimini it started to rain. My first thought was “oh shit”. We just wasted time and money to be stuck in the rain. However, it just turned out to a light shower which made the day a lot cooler. There were also not many tourists which was nice. We immediately went to the beach. Going to the beach right after it rains is my absolute favorite time to be at the beach. It is so quiet and peaceful. The beach at Rimini was huge. There were also tons of restaurants and attractions lining the beach. Overall, Rimini was a vibrant city with a lot to do. There were a lot of cool clubs but I did not get to go to them since I was only there for a little while. Going to Rimini made me realize that you should always take people’s opinions when it comes to traveling because you could end up missing out. xcvxcv