‘Where shall we go this summer?’ I asked my husband Timo. In July/August I’m bounded to 2 weeks holidays this year, due to my work. The most busy weeks and with that, the most expensive weeks.
I doubted for months; Do I want to make a backpacking trip alone, with Timo, to which country? I just couldn’t get my mind to it. I had no idea! Or maybe to many ideas.
When I got an invitation email from our friend Dario and Federica, which I have met in Syria I was sure this trip would be Italy. From previous encounters I knew it would be great fun to see them again!
We decided to take a 2 week trip to Italy. Taking it slow by car, spending some nights in Germany, Liechtenstein and Austria too. This would be an epic road trip to Italy! Final destination Cesena, where our friends Dario and Federica live.
We didn’t plan much. Only a few nights in Germany. And we would lead our friends to show the best sights of Cesena.
Cesena is a city only 15 km from the Adriatic sea. The beach town Rimini is close by, this place is famous for partying beach holidays.
The beach is long and wide, but during the summer loaded with people. And if I mean loaded, it is loaded. Umbrella’s as far as we could look. And this wasn’t the actual beach of Rimini, that is a bit further down South. Can you imagine how busy it would be in that town?
At our previous visit we didn’t spend much time Cesena itself. Our friends live at the outskirts. This time they took us to the center. I was surprised it had more sights I thought it would have. The city is unknown by other people.
I really loved the Piazza del Popolo square with the fountain. The fountain is made in 1591 and had loads of details. Pigeons were taking a bath in the water to cool them down. With temperatures raising to almost 40 degrees it was steaming hot!
The major sight is Rocca Maletestiana Cesena. A castle from the year 1380. The park around the castle is good for a nice walk. You can see a view from the city. Unfortunately the castle was closed during our visit. But I loved the big walls.
During our stay we have visited several sights. Some touristic some not that touristic, but all fantastic! Our friends tried to made the best out of our stay. We had so much fun together, that it didn’t really matter were to go. We did get to see some new sights. And if you have a (hire)car, just go around and explore the region of Cesena.
At a hot day we drove to Gola del Furlo. A huge gap in the mountains split by the river of Candigliano. Even after the river was dammed, it still can get rough. Now in summer, the rain has been poor, so the water is quiet. At some point while swimming I could feel a strong current, so take care when you enter the water.
The water looked pretty with the turquoise color. With temperatures almost reaching 40 degrees, the water felt so fresh!
We brought our own food, picnicking under the trees was something special.
After the refreshing swim, we took a little hiking. We drove up a mountain to find some fresh oregano. Our friend Dario knew some places where to get them. We parked the car along the way, as the road was getting worse. The hike started from here, we just followed the road. Meanwhile, we saw spectacular viewpoints!
I really loved this gorge. Not many tourist and not to busy with local people.
In the evening with a nice pizza dinner, we drove to Santarcangelo. We just took a walk in the dark around the city. The streets had cooled stones and were narrow. The terrace from the restaurants were filled with people, enjoying life music and their meals. It looked so cozy! We walked in the direction of the fortress, trying to get a scenic view. I loved this town! Next time I want to visit it in daylight.
The temperatures seemed to climb up, this supposed to be the hottest day of the Italian summer. Instead of a hike, we choose to go to casket di Civorio. A waterfall about 35 km from Cesena. Our friends wanted to show us around, so we took a scenic route. Unfortunately this was small roads in the mountains and I got really motion sick. My husband drove really slow, to make it more comfortable. I guess it was not only the roads, but the heat played his part. As soon as we arrived and found ourselves a nice parking spot I could feel the nausea disappear.
A short hike down brought us to the waterfall. Our friends were a bit anxious it would be really crowded, as it was a Sunday. And it was. Everywhere there were people relaxing, swimming and chatting. We squeezed our towels between others. A cool dip in the pool down the waterfall was the only refreshing we wanted. The water was actually really cold, but with the waterfall and scenery, very pretty. Again we had a nice pick nick. Fresh bread, some typical meat and fresh vegetables from the garden made a really good lunch!
We made a short hike in the area, which showed some more scenery.
At our last day we visited a few small towns around Cesena. We started in Longiano. With a small castle on a hill, it had a nice view from the top. Looking down on the rooftops, which had some typical roof tiles. They are handmade and women used their upper legs to shape them. That’s why they look smaller like original roof tiles which you see nowadays.
The medieval village of Monteleone was my favorite. The tiny village only has a few houses. If you walk trough the arches you can see small houses, well renovated. The small castle doesn’t seem to have set opening hours. Unfortunately it was closed for the day.
The town Montiano had a nice church. On the walls we could see capers growing. It made the wall lush and green. I loved the viewpoint from the top of the castle building. The museum was closed unfortunately.
I can't thank our friends Dario and Federica enough for there hospitality. It was amazing to see and speak to them again. And we are happy to always meet them again!