Marotta to Rimini

You'll be most surprised to hear that it was raining when we woke up this morning....

 After breakfast we packed up and drank more coffee in the hotel bar, looking at this dismal scene and waiting for a lull.

Beach umbrellas waiting for the tourists to arrive - note the sky!

 Eventually we set off in a light drizzle, rather than a heavy downpour and had a pleasant coastal ride to Pesaro, a lovely town which we enjoyed wandering around, looking at the palazzos, churches and Rossini's birthplace. All the museums and the cathedral were closed unfortunately.

Rossini's birthplace and childhood home in Pesaro - it's now a museum, but was closed as was the neighbouring cathedral which apparently houses some wonderful mosaics.

Gradara Castle

We had to turn inland after Pesaro and enjoyed the rolling countryside - so much so that we made a navigational error and ended up climbing a very steep hill completely unnecessarily! We did however climb well up towards the castle at Gradara which is where the unfortunate Francesca da Rimini and her lover, Paolo her brother-in-law were murdered by her husband Gianciotto. She appears in Dante's Inferno and the story has been set to music by many composers including of course Tchaikovsky, but also as a wonderfully passionate opera by Zandonai.

We descended back to the coast in improving weather and approached Rimini on an excellent bike path along the coastal strip of continuous resorts and hotels. We would even have contemplated camping in the improving weather, but a quick look for hotels revealed an offer of bed and breakfast in a 3 star hotel for £29. Why bother putting up the tent? It's not as nice as last night's, but will do fine.

Marotta to Rimini - 67km, 400m climb