Arrival at the Hotel Belvedere

Here we are at the Hotel Belvedere.  It's quite lovely.  I'm not sure what we were seeing when we looked at the map of Italy to locate Riccione, but we did not twig to the fact that it's right on the coast.  As in two blocks from the water.  Who knew?  We took the train down from Bologna, which was sort of surreal.  We we unable to use the ticket machine because our credit cards do not have an rfid chip.  So we stood in line and bought tickets the old fashioned way.  The reader board on the platform only refers to the last stop on the train line, which of course, we did not know.  Fortunately we stationed ourselves near some lovely 20 somethings who spoke english, and who were going to Riccione and followed them.  Good thing because there was a platform change and we would have missed it.  The surreal part comes from being on a train and hoping it's the correct one.

 

Here is our room, with skylights over the bed.

 

I was somewhat alarmed when I saw these pictures on the web, but there are metal shutters that thoroughly block the light.  They are activated by a switch as well as the opening and closing.  They're pretty cool.  We're on the top floor so we have these instead of windows. 

 

Some sort of fancy car on the road.

 

The beach.  This is beach number 55 and apparently it belongs to a group of hotels.  If you stay at one of those establishments you use this set of beach furniture.

 

The beach furniture.

 

The water.  It's the Adriatic.

 

A big beach hotel.

 

We have been fitted for our rental bicycles.  They are De Rosa carbon bikes.  I test rode my bike on a brick road, the frame is somewhat unforgiving.  Hopefully I will like it.  It's a little long in the top tube, but when you rent, you compromise.  Experience has taught us that traveling with bikes is a little slice of hell, so we have quit doing that.
Jim is still not over his cold, and feels somewhat grisly today.