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.
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| Good morning! The view from our quirky hotel. |
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.
So today, I celebrated by listening to Christmas music, stealthily cutting pine branches, and making advent wreaths with Gretchen. Mom, Merry Christmas November 28th.