Read time: 5 minutes
Preamble – I’m in Hong Kong!
Why hello hello Readers!
This post is being written from the beautiful village home of my friend in Hong Kong. When people first said I’d be in a village, I definitely imagined a super rural community out in the countryside with thatched rooves. No…a village to Hong Kongers means I’m in a 3 storey apartment building with a 10 minute bus ride to the main MTR station or grocery store.
…maybe they would consider a lot of Vancouver a village then…
(As a quick aside, this post was originally going to have the Slovenia adventure in it also, but there was just so much that happened in Italy that I think the post would be way too long thus, Slovenia will be in the following week ^^)
Back to the Travel Adventure: Relaxing in London for a few days:
I was fortunate to be invited back to the vegan flat after Edinburgh before heading off to Italy and Slovenia. At the flat, Lea saved me some quid (the very British slang for GBP/£) and gave me a haircut. First time I’ve had my hair cut in a while and first time having curtain bangs.
The next few days were pretty relaxing. Just spent it living the local life of walking around poking into shops and grocery stores.
After a few days, Lea and I were headed off to Italy and Slovenia! I felt so fortunate to be invited along on this trip as this was not your local tourist excursion. Instead, we were going to relive a little of Leti’s childhood and go camping on the beach in Milano Marittima, Italy.
BOOM! Italy:
After arriving a bit of a crazy flight, Lea and I arrived in Rimini – a town about a 40 minute drive from Milano Marittima. We met Leti’s childhood friends, Fra and Fabri, then headed into the main square to go for a little late night Italian dinner.
I think we had dinner at maybe…11pm? It was amazing even though we had a bit of a hiccup with one of our dinner items containing dairy when it was supposed to be vegan. If you’re vegan…might want to say that you have an allergy to cheese…
As we settled in for the night at the campsite, Fra mentioned that she was getting up at 530am to bike to a 6am classical musical concert on the beach. Though I was pretty tired from the flight and late evening, I felt I just couldn’t miss it…and I wasn’t wrong.
6am Classical Music Concert
This was definitely one of the coolest experiences on my trip to date. As we biked to the location, we saw people still awake from partying the night before (yes…at 6am!) while we were biking to listen to classical music concert. Such a contrast, but wow, do Italians ever know how to enjoy life.
The Beachy Afternoon:
The beach entrance was only a 5 minute walk from the campsite and was filled with sports activities. Perhaps I painted a vision of quiet, nature-filled camping on the beach, but this was definitely 100% glamping (though I promise you, we were in a tent).
I remember the sun being super hot so we lathered on the sunscreen and jumped in the ocean. I’m pretty sure at this point I conked out a couple times from both temperature and little sleep. After that, I was a little more charged and ready to eat the Italian tradition of piadinas (Italian flatbread sandwiches) and gelato!
Bruschetta Night and Walks on the Beach:
If you haven’t already seen it from the above photos, Italians sure know how to eat. That night I learned how to properly make/eat bruschetta and it definitely gave me inspiration for events to plan when I return home. I vaguely remember people warning me about the possibility of who can make the weirdest bruschetta combination (nutella and mustard?), but sadly, this did not come to pass.
Simple bruschetta: toast the bread until crispy, grab a piece of peeled raw garlic and rub on the crusty bits of the bread. Add chopped tomatoes and drizzle with olive oil. So fresh. So delicious.
Somehow even after all that food, we still had the energy to dance on the beach at 1am.
Ending thoughts:
Wow what a day! Looking back, I still can’t believe we managed to fit all of that into 24 hours, but alas we did and then the next day we were off to Slovenia – the country where Lea was born. Can’t wait to relive the memories of meeting Lea’s wonderful parents, the secret swimming hole and experiencing the calm and serene centre of town.
…To be continued in part 6 on May 30th!
~Tracy
World of Wandering Minds 