San Marino

Posted on July 20, 2023  •  5 minutes  • 983 words

All the holding up of the Pisa Tower tuckered these kids out. :)

And it seems the car was concerned about my tiredness because it let me know I had been driving for an hour and needed a coffee. Only in Italy!

As we turned off the autostrada (fast tollway) and followed our trusty google maps, we could see a tower and a castle way off in the distance on top a giant hill. Could that be San Marino, we asked? We drove and started heading up. ‘There is no way we are driving all the way up there, right?’ we continued to say. Well, we did! All the way up! And I’ll sum it up now…San Marino is amazing!

I didn’t even know this country was a country until 5 months ago; I just assumed it was a province in Italy. I was so curious about it and felt I needed to check it out. It blew our minds! We stayed at Hotel Rosa right in the middle of it and right below the one of the castles.

We had a family room and Erin, Avery and Hayden had a room on the floor above. It wasn’t a hard drive, but we were exhausted when we got there so we told the kids they weren’t allowed in our room. Erin, Dan and I blockaded ourselves in our room and proceeded to drink 2 bottles of wine and then we drunk facetimed my mom. We kept the kids at bay for a bit, but finally it was time to get them food.

On the way to searching for a dinner place, we ‘lost’ Erin (she was shopping) and Dan had the brilliant idea to let Ben buy a bow and arrow set (not small) and a quill set. Dan apologized about 10 times for the bow and arrow (because 3 kids and suitcases wasn’t enough to keep track of on trains), but the quill set was and continues to be amazing. Ben journals with it, Dan made Sam one from a feather, and they both love it. There were shields and wands for sale, snow globes with Harry Potter characters, and we even saw Gandoff’s staff. Serious discussion ensued as Ben explained to everyone else why it HAD to be real.

We waited for a table at a place as boys went searching for the Chamber of Secrets yet again

and once we realized the hostess forgot about us, found another place quickly.

We ordered lots of food and the house bubbly…served in a 1 L carafe.

The waiter was awesome and the kids were so hungry that they ate well and fast. While waiting for the food we all drew our best Leaning Tower of Pisa on our place mats that we planned to have Grandma Hohenshelt judge. Sammy’s drawing.

And we had a great view.

Too much wine and I think forgot to take photos of them all. As we were leaving, the waiter gave all the kids a lollypop and high fives.

Being in a new country, we needed to get gelato and we wanted to celebrate Sammy’s bday with Erin and the girls. Somehow, I ordered 9 ice creams (for 8 people) and we added a candle to Sammy’s and sang him Happy Birthday. Back up the hill 2 blocks and we turned in for the night.

Our hotel had breakfast included and we had a spread to chose from and tables with a view. It was lovely and a perfect way to start the day.

Next we set off to explore the castles. About 50 steps up from where we ate breakfast we were at the first castle.

5 minutes down a trail was the second (which was closed for restoration) and 5 more minutes was the third.

We took our time strolling as the kids either sprinted ahead and back telling us how this reminded them of some scene from Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings. (Dan also read this whole series to the kids last year and sparked Ben’s obsession with bow and arrows).

And Sam found Harry’s broom.

It was beautiful with vistas every direction you looked.

So much climbing for the kids, I mean how do you not climb up any staircase you see, or rock, or hillside?

We had to check out by 11am so Dan and Erin went back to transfer some photos and pack up the last little bit while I took the 4 kids (all minus Hayden) inside the first castle. I think I could see a thousand castles and I would still love seeing another one.

We all loved it and climbed everywhere we could and the kids ran (as I yelled to walk) from one area to the next with such glee.

Every time Ben saw a small slit or opening, he’d say ‘I bet they shot arrows from here’. Every time!

With the cars packed up and all checked out, we explored the lower part of the town a bit. More amazing views, more old buildings.

Got some lunch, walked back to the hotel and with so many hugs, we said our goodbyes to Erin, Avery and Hayden.

We were continuing onto Ancona to catch the ferry to Split, Croatia and they were driving to Rome to fly home to AU.

Pretty uneventful rest of the day. Drive was easy. Dropped them off at the port, returned the car, met back up with them, boarded a bus to the dock and took the overnight ferry.

Dinner in the parlor with some intense car playing.

Teeny room (as expected) and Max insisted on sleeping on the top. It’s 4 to a room, so even though Dan was technically a deck passenger, we let him in. Max and I shared a bed with me keeping him sandwiched between my feet so he couldn’t fall out. He didn’t. :)