After a very peaceful night at Camping il Cippo, my next destination was the Republic of San Marino, a microstate in the middle of Italy!
I left my campsite early and drove back down the hairpin bends, stopping near a viewpoint to go take a photo - the view was just incredible! Then I drove slowly to San Marino, as the roads were very windy and, besides, I wasn't in any hurry.
I noticed as I was driving into the republic that the petrol was considerably cheaper than in Italy, so I made sure I filled up when I left. I got to San Marino about 8:30am and found a park easily - honestly, that place has so much parking! It's not the cheapest though, and it only took coins, which was frustrating as I never have enough change with me!
I walked uphill from the parking areas and into the city. I say "city" for lack of a better word but it was so tiny that it could have been any other hilltop town in Italy. It was quite a strange place, as there were quite a few shops selling weapons like guns and crossbows, which I'm definitely not used to seeing. The view from the city was incredible though!
Of course, one of the major tourist sites in San Marino is the Fortress of Guaita, which was constructed between the 10th and 11th century. It's quite an impressive sight, this old castle perched on the very tip of the mountain, with the city a little lower and all of the rest of San Marino a lot further down. There are two other towers that form part of the castle complex.
I had to walk quite far up another hill to get the perfect shot, but it was worth it, as it looked incredible, like a castle sitting in the sky!
I walked back down to the city and popped into one of the shops - I needed a new memory card, I'd obviously been taking too many photos! So I bought one from there, as it was reasonably priced, then left to get my camper, fuel up and go.
It was an interesting morning.