A Day At The Beach

On our next day (Thursday) in Fabriano, Italy, we went to the beach.

But first, we visited this 11th century abbey - San Vittore alle Chiuse (Wikipedia has a little bit to say about it here).  Alas, we only saw it from the outside, since it was closed.

There were kittens there too. We were told that, unfortunately, many Italians don't spay or neuter their pets, so there are lots of cats and kittens around and about.

Diana and Holly sketched and I took photos (I did open my brand new Moleskin and sketch an outline of the abbey but haven't done anything further with it so far) while the group made themselves comfortable and chatted with some of the locals.

Next stop was a pretty little town called Sirolo.  It was right on the coast but very high up - we decided not to try to make our way down to this beach!

Instead, we wandered about the tiny, picturesque streets, taking photos and enjoyed the colourful surroundings.

Then Georgio drove us to Numana, where we had lunch at Bebo's restaurant by the water.

 Naturally, their specialty was seafood but all our choices were delicious.

Jane and Diana marvelling over the seafood

After we ate, we changed into our bathing suits and rented beach chairs on the beach next to the restaurant. I couldn't wait to dip my toes in the Adriatic!

Diana and I went swimming.  The water quite deep right off shore and warmer than I expected, except for the lower depths at our feet, which was much cooler.

We got out our painting supplies and had some fun.

First I drew this:

Later, this girl playing in the water

inspired me to paint this, Jane Davenport style.

Holly found sea glass for each of us and I found, surprisingly, a painted rock with a face of a cat.

We stayed a few hours on those beach chairs, enjoying the hot, summer afternoon, the gentle breeze and the sound of waves lapping on the shore and children laughing.  Exactly what a day on the beach should entail. 

Once back in Fabriano, we strolled through the town and had dinner at a family style restaurant called Lara.  No one was sitting inside, all the patrons sat at tables outside in the yard, under the trees, eating delicious homemade pizza and drinking local wine. 

Our table under the tree, before the food arrived.

The perfect end to another perfect day in Italy!