We left Venice and continued toward the eastern shores of Italy. We were headed toward the Rimini area which once was a famous area for celebrities to spend their holidays. It is not so much that way anymore, but, along this area, you will find one resort after another. We stopped at a quaint resort area outside of Rimini and checked into a hotel. The Hotel was about a block from the beach and was operated by a local man and his daughter. They spoke little English, but we were able to communicate in one way or another.

It was a warm day and I wanted to be sure that the rooms were air conditioned, because in Germany, you cannot find rooms with air conditioning. I was told that yes, there was air, but there is a trick to using it and you are also charged extra based on your usage of the air conditioning. The trick, we found, was that there is a patio door that opens, leading out to a small balcony, but you cannot open the patio doors and run the air conditioning at the same time. But, knowing that, we were able to remain cool during our three day stay.

Our room rate also included full board which consisted of breakfast, lunch and dinner. This I found amazing for the price!! When you dined for breakfast, there was a menu on the table to mark your choices for lunch or dinner. Each table had your room number placed on it so that it was easily found. We opted for breakfast and dinner and no lunch as we ate breakfast rather late. Dinner was served at 7 and as you sat down at your table, there were carafes on the table for you to fill with cool water from a water cooler. Appetizers were displayed on a buffet and then there was a second course of either soup or salad, the main course and then dessert. Cappuccino was served outside by the pool after dinner.

The beaches were quite different from the beaches I am used to in Florida, and even in Holland. They were wide beaches but were covered from the edge of the water to the boardwalks with rows and rows of chairs placed as close together as you could get. I felt rather claustrophobic just walking through so we opted to spend our sunny days around the pool at our hotel.

At night, as we walked around the Boardwalk, you could see all the tourists sitting outside the patios of their hotels just visiting and drinking their cappuccino, coffee, wine or other beverages. There were a few carnivals for children and we even found a few small musical groups playing and people dancing.
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A few observations of my trips through Germany, Austria and Italy:

1. Bring your own washcloths! Somehow the Germans and Italians don't use washcloths, I guess. I am not exactly sure what they use because you are provided with a couple of thin, large Turkish towels, one hand towel and two bath towels.

2. You are not allowed to use an iron in any of these Hotels unless provided and the only place it was provided was in the Hilton in Innsbruck. I lugged my iron all through this trip and was never able to use it. Even if I wanted to use it 'illegally', the plugs in the rooms were made so that you could not plug it in. So take clothes that don't wrinkle!

3. If you like strong, dark, thick coffee, then you will be a happy tourist. The further we traveled into Germany, Austria and Italy, the stronger and thicker the coffee became.
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