San Marino

Arriving in San Marino and heading up to the hotel we are put on halt because the road has been blocked for the Tour De Italy race, similar race to that of the Tour De France.

Fortress built in the 13th or 14th century is quite amazing

There are plenty spectators lined up on the streets to see the cyclist go by. Plenty of traffic jams. The coach has no choice but to stop as we all jump out to view the race. As we hear loud cheering, we get to see the competitors zoom by followed by 30 cars with bikes on top of them, which are the cyclist back up bikes.

The excitement is over with so back onto the coach and head up to the highest peak, which is where our hotel is situated. The fog is thick, as we cannot see a thing as we head higher and higher up to the mountains.

We arrive at our hotel for the night and that is 'Hotel Titano'

It’s nicely situated in town as we check in and head for a walk. We just get lost in the plenty of small alleyways. It’s a beautiful area and there are plenty of cafes and shops around.

The town is small and the better way to see it is just to walk and allow the alley ways to just lead you to a different point. It’s easy to get lost but you don’t mind it so much as every spot is delightful.

There are plenty of status and beautiful gardens all around. The place has a real relax feel to as you walk through the streets, the bells in the Basilica ring every hour. The Basilica of San Marino built at the beginning of the 19^th century contains a wealth of highly prized status and paintings.

Tourists start to flock in. There are about 19 castles on this mountain all of which were amazing but in the fog, the pictures did not do it much justice. The Fortress built in the 13^th or 14^th century is quite amazing to go through each one. We only made it inside 3 and then they started looking the same.

We walk over to Mount Titano, which is 739m above sea level. Fantastic view .

From this end you can catch an aerial cable car down to the markets for 5 euros return but we decided we would give it a miss.

We head over to see the changing of the guards and take pics of the nicely dressed guards

By now the fog has cleared up and from whichever point you take, you get a beaut panoramic view of the town below. We walked until it was time for lunch.

We found a great place that served good tasting burgers for dirt-cheap. Another interesting thing they were selling was cappuccino but with nutella filled through the whole cup.

After lunch we continue to browse in and out of the shops for a few more hours, before not too far off its dinnertime. Before heading back I decided to purchase a small bottle of wine for a cheap 1 euro. It was San Marino wine so I would try it with dinner tonight.

Dinner at the hotel was impressive with a fantastic view of the town below. Titano Restorante. The sun was setting as we dined with the group. A great way to unwind.

After dinner we headed into town for a walk around this city. It is as beautiful at night as it was during the day with all the cafe and restaurant lights lit up. The fog in the air gave it such a mysterious atmosphere as you watched other tourist disappearing in the mist.

We head back to Mt Titano to get some night pictures but at this time, there was too much fog in the air and so the pictures came out unclear.

Everyone is in love with San Marino it seems. It was getting late and the shops have now closed and the town is quiet and eerie so head back to our hotel.