Wednesday, May 19, 2010

San Leo vs San Marino

San Leo wins by a knockout. No question. San Marino is the big name, the famous tourist destination, but San Leo is the real thing. You can see each other from their separate mountain perches, being only a few miles apart. San Marino is an independant country, dating from the time when Italy was just a collection of city states. It is now a tourist attraction and duty free area, so the place is flooded with tourists from all over the globe. And I do mean flooded. I was there on a Tuesday in the off-season, and the place was packed. And every doorway is either a museum, a restaurant, or a shop. Tijuana is not this bad. Nice view, though.
San Leo, on the other hand, is a quiet village with a fortress perched on a craggy peak. There are a few tourist shops and some nice quiet restaurants, but it has none of the hype and pressure of S.M. And it has nice views, too.

I tried to see a couple of museums yesterday. both were closed. The National Motorcycle Museum is tucked away in a farmhouse in thee middle of nowhere, and the Ferrari museum is really just a marketing shop in an industrial center. Strange how all thee museums I want to see are very difficult to find. Or maybe that isn't surprising, in Italy.

 http://www.mapmyride.com/route/it/rimini/759127425609157942

 This dog would have torn my throat out if the fence wasn't there. And all I wanted was a pic of San Marino.
This is San Marino.

This is San Leo.

 San Marino from San Leo

 Traffic stopper in San Marino.
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3 comments:

  1. Jammin' Party Hostel, Rimini, ItalyMay 19, 2010 at 2:54 AM

    Couldn't agree more.
    Wish you the best of luck with the rest of your trip!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Steve B.May 20, 2010 at 8:28 AM

    Are you going to stay on the east coast of Italy or get over to Tuscany or Siena? Is there a way to see on the "map my ride" your WHOLE trip so far? You sound like you are having fun, Great! Padres are still in 1st place, beat the Dodgers in LA last night 10-5.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Travelin' TomMay 22, 2010 at 3:34 PM

    Steve, I'm already on the West coast and heading for Corsica tomorrow morning. I'd like to see the whole trip so far, but I don't think it's possible with mapmyride. It's kinda kludgy to work with, but considering it shows every turn I ask it to make, it's pretty good. I wanted to be able to remember all the little roads i went on and it does it. Maybe when I get home, i can put something together.

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