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We arrive to Rimini just after lunch time. Rimini is the largest resort area on the Adriatic side of Italy but I has a small feel. On our way to the hotel we cruise by and show the clients the best places to explore, shop and eat, then we pull into the hotel. Our hotel has won the best on the beach award for the last several years and is considered by many the best beach hotel on the entire coastline. Each guest will have a sea view room with a huge balcony overlooking the sea; a great place to relax. We check in and the group has free time until we meet for dinner in the early evening. Many will nap, walk on the sandy flat beaches or explore the shops near the hotel. The tour has a relaxed feel and pace so there is no rush to do anything which is what you need in a good vacation.
Rimini is located on the Adriatic side of Italy in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy and is the capital city of the Province of Rimini. Today is has about 138,000 people but grows several million during the summer months as Italians close their shops, schools and head to the beach every year in August.
Rimini is a pure beach resort down and when the sun goes down the city comes alive. The beachgoers of the day become the fun seekers of the night with pubs, live music and street festivals that sprout in Rimini during the summer months. Rimini is very family oriented and there are no drunken revelers about but just people enjoying themselves listening to music, strolling, talking and eating.
One of the highlights of the tour happens in Rimini on the day we arrive. “The FEAST” as we like to call it on tour. When my mother and I were scouting the route for the tour we wanted only the best local experience possible for our clients so we searched high and low for just the right place.
A friend recommended a restaurant located in the countryside outside of Rimini. After one try we were hooked. Ever since that first taste experience we never went anywhere else and have brought our clients to this special place year after year.
Located just outside of Rimini in the countryside of Rimini in an ancient farm house lies the best restraint we have ever experienced in Italy. If you want to find out the name you will have to join our tour. Learn more by clicking here.
The average night involves 14 courses over 3 or 4 hours. Each item from the wine to the cheeses are homemade fresh by the establishment. There are no menus for our group. Once we arrive we are greeted by a glass of local wine, pickled onions and breadsticks. Then comes the appetizers; 5 or 6 different platters of the best food you have ever tasted begin to come to the table. Sliced beef, cheeses, breads, pork, just to name a few. Fresh local white and red wine begins to flow. The group releases “ohhh” and “aaaaah” as the plates hit the table and “mmmmmm’s” can be heard from that point on.
As the appetizers are devoured there is a sort pause where you can talk, sip wine and relax. This is slow food at its best; there is no rush here.
Next arrives the first pasta course. Family style platters of homemade pasta and ravioli come on sliver platters to both ends of the long table. The sauces are light, fresh and so flavorful. The ravioli is stuffed with homemade cheese that is warm and creamy. The pasta has peppers, bacon and spices with just the right amount of kick. The clients are in heaven.
The pasta is enjoyed like it is the last dinner they will ever have but we are not even close to being finished. Next arrives the second course.. meat. Imagine the best beef filet you have ever tasted, sliced, cooked perfectly and sprinkled with olive oil and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Rich lamb in gravy is next with fresh vegetables accompanying the meats. The flavors are intense and the conversation has been on how amazing the food is for the last hour.
The clients are laughing, talking and having a genuinely good time. Many are truly relaxing which is good to see.
Time to stretch your legs after the second course. Many explore the ancient farm house, take photos of the kitchen and the display of plated food for the other customers. After a few moments of rest the desert arrives. Homemade ice cream with cream sauce, chocolate sauce and a dusting of powdered sugar. The clients who has said they cannot eat one more bite are the first to dive into their new found sweet paradise placed in front of them.
The ice cream is gone before you know it and then the staff brings small clear glasses to each of the guests. “what’s next” a client asks.. “a nightcap” I reply. The staff then brings fresh homemade Limoncello and grappa to the table. We begin to pour small tastes of each for everyone. Everyone sits back with their favorite after dinner drink and talks, relaxes and enjoys the unique experience.
Limoncello is a lemon liqueur produced in Southern Italy, mainly in the region around the Gulf of Naples, the Sorrentine Peninsula and the coast of Amalfi and islands of Procida, Ischia and Capri, but also in Sicily, Sardinia, Menton in France and the Maltese island of Gozo. It is made from lemon rinds (traditionally from the Sorrento lemon, though most lemons will produce satisfactory limoncello), alcohol, water, and sugar. It is bright yellow in color, sweet and lemony, but not sour since it contains no lemon juice.
Make Limoncello at home:
Ingredients
- · 8 lemons
- · 1 liter of etÃlic alcohol
- · 1 liter of mineral water
- · 600 grams of sugar
Soak the rinds in the alcohol for a week. Dissolve the sugar in the water (lukewarm) and add the alcohol (without the rinds). Let it get cold and put it into the refrigerator. Wait a week until you drink it.
Grappa is a fragrant grape-based pomace brandy of between 50% and 80% alcohol by volume (100 to 160 proof), of Italian origin. Literally "grape stalk", most grappa is made by distilling pomace, grape residue (mainly the skins, but also stems and seeds) left over from winemaking after pressing. It was originally made to prevent waste by using leftovers at the end of the wine season. It quickly became commercialized, mass-produced, and sold worldwide. Some grappa, known as prima uva, is made with the whole grapes. The flavor of grappa, like that of wine, depends on the type and quality of the grape used as well as the specifics of the distillation process. Grappa was originally made in the northern Italian town of Bassano del Grappa, and some contend that this is the origin of the name, rather than from the Latin graspa – from Wikipedia.
Coffee, espresso or tea for anyone who wants it as the night slows down. We have been eating for over 3 hours but is seems much shorter because everyone is so focused on the relaxing environment that time seems to stand still.
We take photos of the table and make our final toasts to the fantastic evening then we make our way back to the coach for the short late night drive back to the hotel.
Tomorrow is San Marino!
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