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| Favorite Places: Rimigliano Park |
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Take a day out in Tuscany to remember at the beautiful coastal park near San Vincenzo.
San Vincenzo, as a town, is not worth visiting: one long street of brightly colored, tacky storefronts, including a cheap clothing store boasting Hong Kong imports, a pizza shop with Charlie Brown characters on the front, and a panino bar with two live fish on the counter labeled "Diana e Dodi". I hear it has the most well reviewed restaurant in Italy (at about 200 euro a head) but I don't see droves of tourists headed there. There are several ways to reach your final destination: if you're lucky and you arrive when the bike shop* is open, rentals are 5 euro for the afternoon, or you can take a cab for 12 euro each way, hitchhike, or even hike the 45 minute walk alongside a big highway (all of which I've tried out personally) and you will reach a place that I will state without hesistation is the most beautiful place in the world. My professor claims that the park of Rimigliano is nothing compared to some of the towns further down the coast, but public transportation will only take you this far. A taxi driver I met there once offered to take me to some of the more obscure locations for a cheeky 60 euro, but I was pleased to settle for Rimigliano. Park your bike (or pull over) anywhere along the wooded area you will arrive at after about a 15 minute bike ride, or just enter at the Rimigliano gates. The highway is immediately drowned out by the thickest tree cover, with just dots of light coming through the branches, spotlighting the small paths. My favorite time to go is around 4 or 5, during "the golden hour" as midwesterners call it. The light is incredible, making the branches look like they were dipped in honey. You may spot an old Italian couple walking around hand in hand, but don't count on it. You will definitely encounter, however, homemade picnic tables, strange old workout routines complete with bars and instructions and trash cans that are inexplicably always locked up. The park goes on forever, narrowly snaking along but the woods are hardly wide. It only takes a minute before the woods open up to the widest, clearest beach - white sand, big flat rocks under the water, and strange puffballs from a certain tree that pile up on the beach - a mix between tumbleweeds and lintballs. If you can, stay til sunset, just be sure not to miss the 7:30 train back to Florence as its the last one! (I did miss it once and barely made it back after catching a connecting train in Pisa - not recommended). It's calm, peaceful, empty, and unpretentious. Just make sure you bring some Ritz crackers for the train as its a long ride.
Getting there: Train from Firenze SMN – San Vincenzo. From S.Vincenzo, south on Via Principessa (SP23) for about 5km. Leaving from SMN at around 11:30 is the best bet, arrives just shy of 2pm. *Universo bike shop on via Principessa (apparently only open in the mornings, and closed on sundays, but there is usually an older gentleman hanging around who will rent you a bike anyway. If not, youre going to have to hoof it) To eat: Mum and Dad Restaurant, good pizzas etc (doesn't open for dinner til 6:30- you'd be cutting it close if you're going to make the last train. My best advice is to pick up food on your way out, as the town doesn't offer much for good eating) Links: Map, Trenitalia |
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