The Most Serene Republic of San Marino

After a quick visit to Pisa and Florence, we drove 2 1/2 hours to to San Marino.  A very small country within Italy.  It sits way up on a mountain and is a quaint area that time has has not changed.  It is officially called The Most Serene Republic of San Marino, and Sam has decided it is her new favorite country.

We parked in a garage just outside of the city walls.  From there we had to walk up to an elevator which brought us up to the entrance to the city.

Beautiful views

My girl doing what she loves

I did not get a photograph, but there was a uniformed crossing guard right next to me in a little guard booth

A common scene 

Narrow, steep streets lead the way up to the main square….

Yo can see the sea off in the distance

more beautiful views

There were all sorts of restaurants dotting the streets, and they all took advantage of the scenic surroundings

 We happened to catch the changing of the guards.  It was hard to get a good picture because there were so many people trying to see it.

The kids "chatting" as we walk through the square.

We went into one of the towers they have set up as a museum.  I don't know if it is an everyday thing or if we just happened to visit on a special occasion, but they had people dressed in traditional clothing and cooking and eating as they would have way back when.

Sam definitely has a different perspective on what to take pictures of,
 but somehow they always turn out cool

My crazy child with no fear!

Tommy prefers to stay on the path!

There are 3 towers and we hiked to two of them.  The third was quite a ways off and we were all hungry, and that often means cranky around here =)  So we headed back to the center of town and found a nice place for some pizza.  Then onto Bologna.