We awoke to clear, sunny skies and temperatures in the upper teens (mid 60s F). Our stay at Aubergo il Giardino was lovely, but we had 500 km (300 miles) to cover today, so we were on the road by 9:15. We planned to make a stop along the way and, despite the fact that it was relatively nearby, we chose Termoli over Pescara, Ancona and San Mareno. We made our way to Termoli by 10:30 and stopped for a mid-morning coffee.

Sunday mornings can be quite charming in Italy . Often the main street is closed to traffic, so people can stroll up and down, sit quietly and sip expresso in sidewalk cafes, or just stand around chatting without the noise and bustle of traffic. After stopping for some coffee we strolled the length of the main street down to the waterfront. This is where the Norman king Robert I built a fortress overlooking the Adriatic. We wandered along the wall that traces the waterfront, then through the alleyways up to the Piazza del Duomo. Although unassuming, the interior of Termoli's Cathedral was inspiring for its simplicity and intimate size.

Realizing we still had 400 km to cover we headed back to the car by noon and were on the road again. Taking the provincial road along the coast for the next 100 km or so, we enjoyed the views of the Adriatic Sea and southern Apennine Mountains as we worked our way to Pescara. By the time we made our way through Pescara it was already 2:30, so we decided to take the Autostrada the rest of the way to our destination - Rivazzurra, near the city of Rimini. Having started the day on the Gargano Peninsula, we traveled through four different provinces today - Puglia, Abruzzi, Marche and now Emilio Romana. We arrived in Rivazzurra at 4 pm and had relatively little trouble finding our quirky, but lovely little hotel, just two blocks from the Adriatic Sea. We checked in and then made our way north to Rimini and parked close to the western gate of the old city wall.

Although the sky had clouded up during the afternoon, it was brighter by the time we reached Rimini. Being Sunday, the Old City was closed to traffic and was pedestrian only. It was packed with people who were out for the last night of a street fair. We stopped by the Piazza Duomo, but a mass was in progress, so we made our way back to the Piazza Tre Martiri, through the Vecchio Pescheria (old fish market), and over to Piazza Cavour. We had read that Rimini bars have adopted the "appertivo" custom we saw in Florence, Rome and Naples. So we scouted the streets as we walked. We spotted several cafes near Vecchio Pescheria that offered appertivos, so after we finished our stroll we chose one where we could get some beer and dinner.

It began to drizzle during dinner, so we moved inside to finish our beers. By 7:30 it was clear that the rain was not going to pass, so we decided to head back to our hotel. Given that today was really planned as a travel day, the morning stroll in Termoli and the lovely evening in Rimini made for a very nice day.