Spiritual heeling in Italy

4:38pm Wednesday 23rd January 2008

Five girls, 36 pairs of shoes and one aim - relaxation!

Having just finished university, my housemates and I decided a much-needed holiday was definitely on the cards.

With final exams, coursework and moving preparation under way, we were all more than a little stressed. That in mind, an all-out, boozy, fake baked week in Ibiza was the last thing we wanted. So, when our holiday rep suggested a little Italian town called Pesaro, we jumped at the chance.

Pesaro, we were to find, is a rather quaint seaside resort in the Adriatic Riviera, not far from Rimini, in the north-east of Italy.

Nightlife isn't particularly busy but, we were promised, the shopping is amazing and for five shopaholic females, how could we say no?

The travel time to Pesaro is normally about five hours from Gatwick. We were unfortunately caught up in the Italian air strikes though and ended up with an eight-hour delay.

Luckily, our airline, Monarch, was extremely efficient and we received a complimentary lunch in a nearby hotel, complete with as many profiteroles as we could manage (we actually took this to be something of a challenge...).

Once we did finally arrive at our destination, things really began to look up.

Our hotel, the Embassy, was basic but more than sufficient for our needs and, most importantly, it was clean, with friendly, helpful staff.

What's more, the sun was beating down and our hotel was right on the seafront with its own section of beach. Needless to say, the unpacking was left as a job not worth doing and donning our bikinis we hit the pool immediately.

Indeed, we proceeded to stay pretty much there for the next 48 hours! With our hotel bar only five feet away and a pile of books by our sides, we launched ourselves into some hard-core relaxation and soon the worries of the past few months were forgotten.

By day three we were beginning to feel the need for a little excitement and so we set out to find the nearest bar.

This was no mean feat. When they said nightlife was quiet, they probably should have said non-existent. Not easily defeated, we eventually found the one and only bar in Pesaro, the Marche, and what a welcome we received!

The owner of the bar rushed towards us like we were the first customers he'd seen in a very long time (which may well have been true) and we were soon on first name terms with all the bar staff. Being the only customers ended up a serious advantage as we were showered with free drinks.

Unfortunately our hangovers the next day stretched well into the evening, and it wasn't until our fifth day that we managed to venture out much further than pool-side.

Thank goodness we did though, as our next outing was to be the highlight of our entire week. Boarding a coach from the hotel we embarked on a four-hour journey to Venice.

From the moment I stepped on to the boat to cross the lagoon to Venice, I knew the day was going to be special.

The journey takes about an hour but the time really flew as we peered at the fishermen's huts and tiny islands dotted along the way.

On docking we were directed to the main points of interest and then left to explore as we wished. It has to be said that it took us some time to get round to doing anything at all. We were so overwhelmed by the sights and wares that it was a pleasure just to let the city absorb us into its frantic bustle.

With stalls, street entertainers and tourists by the billion, the atmosphere of Venice is quite simply electric. Pulling ourselves together we decided that our first goal would be a gondola ride. These cost about 16 Euros, which may seem a little pricey, but it's the one thing you really must do.

Piling into our little vessel, we floated our way around the back streets and marvelled at this city built on water (it is genuinely extraordinary). Disappointingly, our gondola man didn't serenade us; so I chose to sing instead and much to the amusement of the other tourists, I belted out the Cornetto advert rather loudly.

The rest of our day passed all too quickly, but we managed to squeeze in some lunch in St Mark's Square and wander around the intricate maze of back streets.

When in Venice, bear in mind that while everything is quite expensive, some fabulous cheap little restaurants and shops can be found by venturing away from the centre.

Sadly, the time to leave Venice came rather quickly and we were soon back on the coach to Pesaro.

We all agreed that it was easily the most romantic city we had been to and everyone vowed to return - except this time with a man in tow. Our day in Venice, although amazing, was really quite exhausting, and the group collectively agreed that the remaining few days would be spent back by the pool - bar one last little excursion to the republic of San Marino.

Set high in the mountains, this is the smallest protectorate state in the world, both by area and by population. It was founded in 301BC.

This means that technically the date in San Marino is actually 1706, and tourists can have their passports stamped with that date when there.

San Marino, we were promised, is a shopaholic's dream, with shops and boutiques aplenty, and, best of all, lots of tax-free stop-offs! A tiny snag appeared in our plans, however. Until this point it had been absolutely beautiful and so we set out wearing cute little summer dresses and flip-flops.

Big mistake. San Marino not only has its own date, it has its own weather. We were met by torrential rain and winds which I feared were going to blow us clean off the mountain.

As we were all sporting hangovers from a few too many bottles of cheap wine by the pool, this was not what we considered a comfortable setting. We bought the first items of clothing we came across. Regrettably this consisted of two Vicky Pollard-style tracksuits and three see-through rain mac's.

Warmth and not style were our main concerns and we spent most of the day huddled over cups of tea in a café.

Not quite the shopping day we had in mind but hey, at least our bank balances didn't suffer for it. Come five o'clock, we were happy to be heading back to the hotel.

Until we realised that the end of this excursion meant the end of our trip and, a few hours later, we found ourselves back on the coach to Rimini airport. As sad as our departure was, we all agreed that Pesaro had been a fabulous week away.

Next time, perhaps, we'll look for something a tad more lively, but if it's peace and quite you want, then this is the place for you.

FACT FILE Flew with Monarch: www.flymonarch.com Stayed at: Hotel Embassy, Pesaro - on the sea promenade, only a short stroll from the town centre. www.hotelembassypesaro.com

Editor's choice