Rimini

Rimini is a small city in Emilia Romagna. It is on the beach. In the summer time it is filled with tourists from, Germany and Russia but in the winter, it is filled from international students from all over the world. It is a bike friendly city where you can reach everything by bike.

I first came to Rimini by the end of September 2015. It was still hot. You could still enjoy some sunbathing at the beach. Let us not forget about its popular ice-cream. There is one called Emilia Romagna where people would be standing in line just to get their hands on its ice-cream. I come Beirut, so our ice-cream was a bit different. For me, this ice-cream was like drops of heaven in my mouth.

In the morning you could always say yes to a cup pf cappuccino with a brioche. All the bars are running by family. It is so nice how everybody knows everybody. You could hear people calling each other’s by the first names.

Every Wednesday and Sunday in Rimini are known as Mercato day! The centre is closed to forbid any car to enter and it is covered with shops. These shops sell everything ranging from clothes, homeware, and food. It is cheaper and the food is fresh. The clothes sometimes can be second hand but good brands.  You can always find something to buy even if you’re not looking. They could be handy. Usually all Italians love going shopping, it is called spessa!

Rimini is poplar for its panini. They cost around 3 to 5 euros if you find a local shop that has trip advisor signature on the window. These are the prices.  I recommend you the one with mozzarella and pomodoro. Usually students go during lunch break to one of the local’s bar there to eat. As it doesn’t take long to prepare and is perfect for the student budget.

As a student, you don’t really mind eating something quick and cheap for lunch, as the night is more important to you.  At least once per week we go to do something called aperitive. It is done mostly in all Italy. You order a drink and you get an open buffet of food. It is one of the favourite things for students to do, as they will be paying only for the drink. It is served in the bars from 6:30 pm until 9:00 pm. Sometimes there is games to play as well. It brings people together. But if you think this is dinner for Italians than you must be mistaken.

Food is very important for Italians. Even if they eat at aperitive. They still go back home and cook. Aperitive for them is nothing but an appetiser.

Every Friday and Saturday in the winter in piazza Cavour students will be taking over! They buy a drink or two and bring it there even if it is freezing. We usually sit on the stairs of piazza Cavour and admire the lights and sounds of Rimini. Its is nice even if you go alone, you could always run into somebody you know as Rimini is small and everybody knows everybody.

Unfortunate as it is international city you don’t get much chance to practise your Italian. But in some hustles, such the one called Jamine on the beach side. It makes activities for people to participate and be social. One of them is called language exchange when you sit on a table with a person from a different county and you try to teach him or her your language and in exchange he will teach you yours. It is more fun than educational.  But the commune of Rimini gives free Italian classes to the residents. It might not be a high-quality school as it is filled with people from different study backgrounds and levels, but for a free course per week you cant complain.

I haven’t tried the pizza in the South, but I did try the one in the north. I really enjoyed it. There is one pizzeria called Pam Pam it is in the centre but hidden. If you are a tourist, you could never find it.

The pizza is good, and the place is inexpensive.  As a student studying in the university of Bologna, you could be entitled to a scholarship. This scholarship can present you with some coupons to certain restaurants which includes Pam Pam.

Other than Italian restaurants in Rimini, you could always see yourself in a Sushi restaurant. You could fine in every street a sushi restaurant, they might also give discounts to students, all you can eat for lunch 9.99 euros. A lot of us used to go there.  It is open by Chinese not Japanese, but the quality was still good.

There is an American restaurant called White bakery which opened 2015. It is an American restaurant. One of the first in Rimini. The portions are super big. You could never manage to finish your dish. They have all kinds of food. My favourite was bagel with cheese and avocado. I used to get it as a brunch. The theme is the 70s event the waitress is dressed accordingly. When it first opened it was so hard to find a table unless you booked in advance.

I never rode the bike when I was in my hometown. When I came to Rimini I bought a bike and learned how to drive it. On foot you can reach your destination but on bike is more fun. Especially when you are with a group of friends. You can also spot 3 year old kids getting trained on how to use their bikes as an adult get trained on how to use a car. I used to ride It to go from the centre to the beach. Even in winter you could see yourself driving to the beach side. Not for the beach but the accommodation on the beach in winter is less expensive and you could always be or have a friend or two living there.

If you have a bike I recommend you live at the beach side. You could have a house with one flatmate and pay 250 euros than living in the centre with 3 or 4 flatmates and paying 350 or 400 euros. But if you’re the type of a person who is lazy to cycle to the centre to his lecture than no, stay in the centre.

The park is cute. It is big but not that big that could make you get lost but big in a sense that you could go jogging and tour around it. People from Rimini loves fashion and take good care of their health. Even if it is raining you can see them going for a morning jog. I am not an athlete person but sometimes I used to go for a run because of encouragement. 

If you don’t like to jog but enjoy working out. There is one gym that gives very good promotions. The first month you pay 10 euros and you can do classes and gym for an entire month. They usually propose these promotions in April as they know people would love to get their summer body ready for beach.

Speaking of summer, In the summer there is something called pink night. They do it every week in the month of June. In every street a live band would be playing, and the stores will stay open until midnight only on Saturdays. It is amazing. Literally everybody would be in the centre. They do it I assume as Rimini is known as a beach city, they are trying to bring tourists also to the centre. The theme is pink.

During Christmas time they put in piazza Cavour the ice skating floor. It would be crowded from people from different ages. It is so fun even if you are not skating, but you just sneak a peak at the people skating and always somebody would be falling. You would skate, and music would be playing, advertisement music, you would feel as if you are in a commercial.

Last winter it was snowing after a long time in Rimini. We even went to the beach to look at the snow. It was amazing. The famous water fountain had iced water instead. I have attached a picture regarding it, as it was something to be remembered.

Some Sundays people would be selling only books second hands in Piazza Cavour. A couple times per year people with their kids would be selling kids games and stuff. The things their kids no longer need. They also show kids the worth of working and never underestimating martial stuff.

If your thinking about going shopping Rimini is the place to shop. In the centre the quality is A but they can be a bit expensive. There is the mall called le bifane, on foot is like 25 minutes but also you could use the public bus or the bike. It has all the popular brands that could be affordable. In Rimini, it is the only mall you might encounter.

There is also Ikea. Ikea is a bit far. But as a student you will see yourself going there at least once to gather stuff for your new house. It is affordable and could find anything you are looking for, for your house. You can also spot students selling their stuff when moving out from Rimini. It is mostly Ikea furniture. There are also Chinese shops in the centre. They might not be cheap as Ikea but they are close and they are always open.

The supermarket closes at 7 pm and Sunday until 1 pm. In Rimini, Coned supermarket is popular. The prices are not so cheap but there is always discounts on a lot of things. There is also something called Tigota. Tigota is a shop for shampoos and household. It is cheap and a lot of promotions happening every week or so.  Usually what I used to do was, buy food from coned and cosmetics from Tigota. As a student you must think of every detail as your budget is not that high.

Not speaking good Italian good be hard to find work especially in a small city as Rimini. What I used to do was babysit or teach English for kids. There is a group on fakebook called cerco lavoro it means I look for work. You can post what work you want or see what other need and work. No contract required as it is a freelance or part time thing.  You could always find people who want international students to teach their kids English. Like me I don’t have a certificate as a teacher, so I used to charge less than a person who had it. Around 10 euros per session.  It used to add up when you have more than one student and you teach more than once per week. It also gives you the chance to enter in the house of Italian family. I know your surprised when hearing this. Yes, I was living in Italy but I was living with students who were international. So still I never saw a house with Italian family until I started teaching English.

Sometimes you could go crazy when staying in Rimini for too long. There is a lot of small cities you could visit by train that surrounds it. I am not saying because I lived in it but if I had to choose the best city in Emilia Romagna, Rimini would be it. It has a kind of magic in it. You are forced to love it by nature. Till today I must go once per year to visit it. it has its own charm in it.

My University is called the university of Bologna. It has the branch in Bologna and the other one in Rimini. As I was studying Tourism they applied this course in Rimini as it represents a touristic place.

They select people from all over the world to participate in this course. It gives you the opportunity to discover and experience new culture and implement a different way of thinking. It teaches you how to behave and respect every culture. It opens your eyes and your mouth (you try new dishes) to a lot of things.

I never knew I would have a Korean or a Chinese friend. I never knew I would have a best friend that is from another side of the world. Who has different culture different language and yet you could still be similar in a lot of things.

All these remarks I believe, could have never happened without Rimini. The charm I was talking earlier about it in its small details.

I will conclude my blog of Rimini now with a couple of things. If you are ever thinking of studying abroad and you like to integrate with not only the locals but with international people, you should look of what the university of Bologna has to offer. I never though of coming and studying from the middle east to a small city called Rimini in Italy. But I am glad I did it. even if you are in Italy to visit bigger cities such as Florence Rome or Milan, I suggest you come visit our cute city Rimini…Don’t forget to try the ice cream shop in the centre. As we say in Italy A Dopo!

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