Cute Cesenatico

After prying myself from the extremely welcoming Ravenna, I took the train onwards into the South - however only for 40 minutes, after which I reached Cesenatico. Described on a travel blog as one of the "hidden pearls of the Adriatic", at least the hidden part was certainly true, since the majority of my couchsurfing hosts had never heard of it (though Maria Grazia said it was nice). And when I arrived, it seemed I was in the middle of no-man's-land again reminiscent of my Hungary adventures. But then, oh my, I follow the signs to the city centre and all of a sudden am welcomes by a canal (which lead all the way to the sea) that was full of historic sailing boats. Wandering along the canal, I found the fish market (peschateria??), a tiny organic farmers market where I got the juiciest peaches and most flavorful tomatoes, and plenty of little restaurants and specialty stores. The streets were filled with cyclists, people taking a stroll in their swimsuit, and what in general seemed like weekend tourists. And when I reached the sea, I got why: there was a sandy beach completely covered in umbrellas and a yacht harbor that sported some of the snaggiest boats I have yet seen. After a 40 cent, 30 sec ferry ride to the other side of the canal (there was actually no other way to switch sides), another stroll along the canal back, during which I resisted the tempting smells of the trattorias preparing for lunch service, and a picknick lunch with my market haul and a fresh piece of bakery bread, I had to admit that also the "pearl" part of Cesenaticos description was totally spot on.