Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Winter Wonderland of San Marino

It was with glee that we leaped into the rental car, revved the motor and sped off in the opposite direction of the bus.  This stage more than any others incurred a serious state of exhaustion and numbed taste buds, and Wendy & I were giddy with joy at taking off on a short adventure without 23 other people.  So as the bus turned southwest on the Autostrade towards Bra, we went southeast.  The destination?  Oh, just a tiny mountain republic called San Marino.  A country within a country.  And, oh yeah, a point for Wendy's rack-up-the-countries-visited travel game.

Funnily enough, neither of us thought ahead to the winter + mountain-top city = probable snow equation.  But snow there was, and plenty of it.  Not to mention ice.  But San Marino was stunning.  To be sure, I would rather eat an entire platter full of culatello paired with sparkling Barbera than go there in summer as I have never seen so many tourist shops crammed into one small walled city.  In January however, it's a little magical.  The perfect antidote to a very long, cold stage.






Good morning!  The view from our quirky hotel.













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