Rimini; Monday, 25 March, 2019

I had another great breakfast in the hotel before packing my bag, checking out and catching the bus back into town for a bit more of a wander around.

I started by visiting the large church located a short distance from the bus stop, and then headed through to Piazza Cavour before heading over to the castle for a bit more of a look around there.

From the castle I wandered back via the ruins of a former Roman house, which being a Monday was closed, but you could see quite a bit through the windows.

Back at the station I caught the bus back out to the seafront and went for a wander along the side of the Port Canal taking in the city’s lighthouse before wandering out along the breakwater to the statue at the end of the harbour arm.

I then walked back along the harbour wall to the beach and back along the sands to the hotel where I picked up my bag and headed back to the station to start the journey home.

It had taken a little while for a bus to turn up, so I was a little worried that I might be cutting it fine for my booked train, but in the end I had ample time as train services were in the process of disintegrating. There had been a lineside fire about 20 miles south of Rimini and the train that should have left 30 minutes before I arrived was still stuck the other side of that and getting increasingly late. It also meant that my train, the one an hour later than that one, was also getting a lengthening delay.

I’d left more than a hours flexibility in my return journey for getting from Bologna station to the airport, but with the delays mounting I was starting to get a little worried that I might not make the flight.

Thankfully, I hadn’t been able to purchase a cheap ticket on the return leg – all that had been available were fully flexible tickets, so I was able to get pop over to the ticket office and get my ticket endorsed across onto the train an hour before the one I was supposed to catch, which finally pulled into Rimini station 2 hours late.

The journey back to Bologna was uneventful, though the train didn’t make up any time, which made me very glad for the extra time I’d included in my itinerary. I came out of the station and straight in front of me was an Aerobus pulling up ready to head out to the airport, so I was able to make a quick change and start on the final leg back to the airport and my thankfully uneventful flight home.