On My Own

I thought a relaxing weekend on my own by the ocean would be a good transition from midterms to fall break.  I was slightly mistaken.  Turns out, being alone in a hotel in a beach town during the offseason is not much fun.  I had chosen to stay in Pesaro, a popular beach town in Le Marche that had a museum about the sea. When I got off the train, I felt a little silly walking around with my big backpack, but felt good about this independent experience.  Then I arrived at the hotel recommended by a guidebook.  It was kind of dark.  There was no one at the front desk.  So I wandered around saying buongiorno.  Finally, an old woman came out and I explained to her that I had reserved a room via email.  Instead of getting the warm welcome that I had expected as the only adorable offseason student traveler, I actually had to ask to check into my room.  The hotel itself was a very nice building, I just found it bizarre that no one was available to ask where the beach was, if I can have a map, or even what time breakfast was. 

Shortly after the I found out that the tourist office is closed for the weekend, I decided I did not like traveling alone.  Having no one to talk to, no one to smile at when I return to my hotel is a very strange feeling that I couldn’t easily shake.  The next day, I did find the sea museum.  It was conveniently located across the street from my hotel and inconveniently closed on weekends.

Adriatic Sea

Not all was lost.  I did get to do things that I wouldn’t normally do, like visit an opera writer (Rossini)’s house, visit an art exhibit/store featuring Mother Mary, and visit a diocesan museum where there were Medieval artifacts from old cathedrals.    As the only tourist, I was approached by many people who thought I was Italian and I very much appreciated these conversations.  I also got to sit on the beach (which had incredibly soft sand) and walk it as many times as I wanted to. 

Pesaro Cathedral

A highlight was church on Sunday morning at Pesaro Cathedral.  Not only was it a beautiful church, but it was a beautiful parish.  A whole crew of altar boys set up the church, placing prayer books and song books in every row.  As people started filtering in, I could see that this was a tight knit community.  People were excited to be at church and to wish one another a happy Sunday.  Kisses were flying cheek to cheek all around the church.  The priest was a very good, clear, and inspirational speaker, even I left with a message.  Here in Italy, I really miss singing at church.  At this cathedral, I was happy not to be singing, just listening.  A group of teens with an acoustic guitar and angelic voices provided music for the mass all on their own.  The tweens in the parish did the collection.  I absolutely loved the sense of community and happiness at the mass.

Pesaro's main piazza

Dinner by myself the first night was a very stressful event; I just did not feel comfortable eating alone in a restaurant.  But I did get to enjoy some very good fish and spinach ravioli and a glass of red wine.  The second night things changed.  I jumped in the ocean as the sun was going down, my first time in the Adriatic, and it was exhilarating.  This put me in a very good mood that continued until dinner that night.  I basically had a beautiful pile of seafood tossed in olive oil with a little lettuce on the side, complimented nicely by a fantastic glass of white wine. 

Not the best weekend, but it was a good life experience and I am glad I did it here in Italy, by the sea, and learned to relax by the end of it.