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RISE AND SHINE, KIDS! Today is the day. Grace and I rose from our beds at 7am bright eyed and bushy tailed (we were dragging) because we were headed to Rimini on an 8:20am train. Brave, considering how our last train experience went. We grabbed a banana on the go and began our trek to the Santarcangelo train station. For the first time since our arrival we were almost... chilly? Should have been our first sign.
We arrived in Rimini and started our 20 minute walk from the train station to the coast, the sun still hadn't made an appearance but it was our beach day, we were sure it had to come out soon!
We were wrong. Very out of character for us. Not only did the sun not come out, but right as we reached the coast, catching our first glimpse of Italian waters, it started to pour. We were hungry, we were damp, and we were sad. There was only one thing to do – breakfast.
We wandered into the Waldorf Suit Hotel feeling like Oliver Twist begging for more porridge as we asked if we could pay for breakfast even if we weren't guests of the hotel. Luckily, the kind-eyed woman at the desk, who quickly obliged when I asked "Uh, inglese?", confirmed that we could pay 12 euros to enjoy their buffet. The food didn't disappoint, then again even if it had, we weren't exactly in a position to be picky at this point.
Reinvigorated after food, we stepped back out into the rain and decided that purchasing umbrellas was the only way forward since we were still intent on at least SEEING the beach. Well, we not only saw the beach but walked it, taking in the rows and rows of sun beds and umbrellas lining the sand. We were later told that these are all owned by the nearby hotels and are available for guests to rent for the day. But on this particular day, there wasn't a person in sight, not a single bikini clad individual braving the rain. Just two gals with brand new umbrellas and a dream. If this was our beach day, so be it.
Our walking carried us back in the direction of the train station, a complete but very welcomed accident. Since our train wasn't for another couple of hours we continued on, heading towards an old church that Grace had located on Maps. Grace, as it turns out, has a real thing for old churches. Not for any particular religious reason, but just for the sheer majesty of them.
We didn't end up getting to go inside the old church, I guess God had closed his doors by the time we arrived. Instead, we wandered around another town square similar to that of Santarcangelo but larger. We peered into shops and took pictures of old buildings that really could have been anything – we couldn't read the plaques. And then the craziest thing happened: we ran right into CFA co-founder, Indeana Underhill. She handed Grace and I 20 euros each, taking care of us as she so often does, and told us to buy some fruit. Who are we to say no to Italian fruit? Before parting ways with Inde, we tried the longest grapes we'd ever seen in our lives, along with donut peaches, and green figs.
Immediately following the only fruit or veg we'd had in several days, Grace and I did what Grace and I do best: we purchased four different types of Italian candy and began our walk back to the train station. Grace tripped again #tripcount5 – if you've been keeping up with us since day 1 you'll recall that the cobblestones got Grace on our very first day... they've continued to best her at least once a day since.
Back in Santarcangelo the sun was not only out but actually quite hot, our umbrellas found new purpose now shielding us from the sun as we grabbed more focaccia sandwiches and dove right back into work. Grace did a few more filmmaker interviews while I sat in the background on my computer, trying to string a sentence together.
Our late afternoon snack break consisted of a range of things for everyone: matcha, smoothies, chai, and banana bread all from Il Cucinino. The chocolate to banana ratio was off for Grace, I was quite happy. Then again, I've never met a piece of banana bread I didn't like. This was fuel enough for all of us to get in some shopping. We hit the streets of Santarcangelo where Inde successfully purchased cow print shoes and Haylee and Grace walked into an employee only section of the store before being asked to come back up-stairs by the kind Italian man working there. Grace and Haylee don't get out much.
On our way back to our hotel to freshen up before dinner, which wasn't until 9:30pm, Grace and I passed the market place candy booth for the third or fourth time that day. The beautiful red and green pieces of watermelon flavored candy called to us from their place behind the plastic barrier. The granulated sugar coating sparkled under the market lights and I just couldn't say no any longer.
After freshening up at the hotel, we headed to the outdoor theater to watch a block of shorts. We only caught one before our 9:30 curtain call for dinner, an impressive one-take short called Test by Markus Johansson. The short is a dark-comedy that ups the tension of a driving test be several degrees when the drive takes an unexpected turn (no pun intended). The film ended up winning Best Performance in its category the next night during awards.
At last 9:30 arrived and as promised, dinner was on the horizon. After a day of almost 25,000 steps, dinner at La Sangiovesa was our light at the end of the tunnel. La Sangiovesa is one of Italy's most famous restaurants and as their website puts it: "La Sangiovesa is not just a kitchen; it is a soul." Not only was the food incredible – pasta, platters of cheese and meat, warm bread – but the restaurant itself is filled with art. The likes of which you'd typically find in a museum. Eating at La Sangiovesa wasn't just a culinary experience, it was a cultural one, something you have to do while you're in Santarcangelo. Omri Cohen, co-owner of Bridge the Gap Films (also known as BTG), had waited an entire year to have their Strozzapreti again. It's that good.
Despite post dinner rumors of karaoke, Grace and I headed to the hotel, not looking to publicly humiliate ourselves any further. Getting caught in a rain storm was enough for one day. We were full and happy but terribly sad to realize that the next morning would bring the fifth and final day of our Nòt / Santarcangelo adventures. We were already starting to talk about coming back next year.
