I thought that it was high time to remedy this oversight and planned a side trip to both on my last sojourn to Italy. A friend recommended that my husband and I take the train up from Rome as opposed to driving Italy’s notoriously speedy highways. It was also suggested that a car is not needed in Rimini or Florence as both are relatively small cities and utterly walkable. We decided instead to fly into Rimini’s Federico Fellini Airport from Rome; the flight was an easy 55 minutes and then it was only matter of 45 minutes before we arrived at the hotel.

Le Meridien Rimini is a lovely hotel located directly on the beach with 5 star services at 3 star prices. The façade is not very impressive, but the room was: large with a huge terrace and a gorgeous view of the Adriatic Sea. We spent a lot of time lounging there enjoying the magnificent sunrises and sunsets.

If you have never seen a popular Italian resort beach, prepare yourself for sectioned-off strips owned by various "beach clubs". Le Meridien does not have its own, but has a special agreement with "La Dolce Vita Beach Club", located just in front of the hotel. It features a restaurant bar, showers, children's playground, beach volley and basketball courts. Umbrellas and sun beds are included (on request) in the daily fee. La Dolce Vita is better than most as they space the sun beds generously which means that you don’t have your neighbours at your elbow.

Basking in a sepia-toned sunset on our room’s terrace was the perfect respite before we began preparing ourselves for a night of dinner, and after, club-hopping. The restaurant, Azzurra, in nearby Riccione, serves fantastic, fresh seafood in elegant surroundings overlooking the sea. Our cold platter of seafood appetizers was gargantuan-we gorged ourselves on the frutti di mare, fruits of the sea, and washed it all down with an icy carafe of the house white.

After spending a leisurely few hours dining, we were ready to get the party started! Baia Imperiale boasts that it is "one of the 10 most beautiful clubs in the world". It was not an idle boast, this place was huge and ornate with a pool, obelisk, and Roman columns scattered throughout; a perfect scene for a Roman bacchanal.

We were surrounded by gorgeous Italian youths and European party people grooving to all the latest house music tunes and hip hop anthems-the joint was jumpin’! After sampling way too many multi-hued cocktails and dancing til dawn, we tiredly made our way back to our hotel. We knew for sure that the next morning’s cultural sojourn to the historical sites would be pushed back by a few hours.

We got off to a late start, but finally arrived at the centro storico, historic centre, of the old town of Rimini; its monuments are the living expression of its past glory as a Roman outpost and stronghold. We began at l'Arco di Augusto, the very formal and majestic entrance to the city. It is the oldest of the surviving Roman arches, dating from 27 BC, and built in honour of Caesar Octavianus Augustus. As we walked along Corso d’Augusto, we came upon Piazza Tre Martiri which was dedicated to three young Parisians killed by Nazis towards the end of World War II. The piazza was the Roman setting for the speech Julius Caesar gave to his legionaries immediately after crossing the Rubicon in 49 BC when he exhorted them to follow him to Rome.

We decided to continue to the centre of daily life for Rimini, Piazza Cavour, for a little lunch and people-watching. The little café that we stopped in was the perfect place to gaze at the 2 solemn palaces that flank the piazza. We tried to imagine what life must have been like in Rimini during the rise of the Roman Empire...

A 5 hour cruise down the Adriatic from Rimini to Gabicce Mare had been on our tentative agenda, but our leisurely luncheon was difficult to tear ourselves away from. Instead we opted for a visit to the museum that pays homage to Rimini’s most famous son. Federico Fellini, the great Italian film director, was born in Rimini in 1920 and he's actually buried in the local cemetery. The museum dedicated to him is located in his former residence. We enjoyed browsing the memorabilia from his famous films in the small exhibition area.

It was finally time to move on to Florence. The train ride to Florence was absolutely painless: under 2 hours on a fast, comfortable train. We were feeling quite fresh and had minimal baggage, so we decided to walk to our hotel, which was supposed to be only a short, 10 minute walk from the station. We got directions and were on our way-through the seedy area surrounding the station, which then gave way to small, charming streets.

The Montebello Splendid is a 19th century villa that was converted into a lovely boutique hotel. As we entered through the colourful quiet of the garden courtyard and walked through the columned Tuscan-style loggia (arcade) we knew that we had chosen well. Everyone remarked how small and noisy we would find the rooms in Florentine hotels, but our room at the Montebello Splendid was utterly luxurious; deliciously decorated with stuccoes and furnishings coordinated with precious parquets and marble.

Florence casts a spell in a way that few cities can, due in part to its medieval stone architecture and its superlative wine and cuisine. However, its greatest gift to Western culture is its concentration of the world’s most celebrated art treasures.There are many sublime works of art displayed in Florence, but The Uffizi (museum) is the single best introduction to Renaissance painting.

There are works by some of the most revered Italian artists: Giotto, Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Titian (Tiziano Vecelli), Caravaggio, the list is endless. We spent most of one day here intoxicated on the feast of art displayed. A word to the wise, if you are planning a summer visit, book well in advance (at least a week), to avoid the hours-long ticket queues.

Dinner that evening was somewhat harried at the Enoteca Pane e Vino: waiters rush between long, packed tables beneath hams dangling from the ceiling. But the scattered service could not dim our delight with the hearty bean soup thickened with rustic bread, ribollita, the plate of select salamis and cheeses, and the extensive wine offerings (we chose a Chianti Riserva). After dinner we dropped in at the intimate speakeasy Red Garter for a nightcap and a little live music.

After our first day spent ogling art, we concentrated on experiencing the city for the rest of our short stay. We wandered the San Lorenzo market looking at the colourful collection of stalls selling leather goods, marbleized paper, and other sundry items finally stopping for a hearty lunch of trippa (tripe) at the food stall Nerbone. Searching for unique gifts and souvenirs was a breeze with all of the ceramics, leather gloves, and flamboyant, well-crafted costume jewellery on offer on the shopping streets beginning at Via Cerretani.

Just meandering through Florence’s small, medieval alleyways was an adventure with fantastic rewards like local cafés that seemed unchanged since the time of the powerful Medici clan. Milan and points north are our next Italian destinations, but the ancient cities of Rimini and Florence have definitely left a lasting impression that I will keep close to my heart.