just a few days after we got back from our baltic states road trip, we head off to visit san marino. we had to squeeze in one last adventure (and check off one more country, ha!) before ian started work again.

of all the places i have visited on this earth, i think san marino exceeded my expectations the most. a ridiculously charming old city hanging off the side of a mountain with virtually no cars and endless gorgeous views – yes please! this teeny tiny country, a constitutional republic since the year 301, is entirely surrounded by italy. going there was fascinating and delightful … and a great little kiss goodbye to our amazing summer of time off work.

we flew into bologna, drove to san marino, spent a few hours exploring, and then stayed overnight in the italian town of rimini. we spent the next day playing at the beach before heading back to london. yes, the perfect icing on the cake of an amazing summer of adventures!

 
^^ riding the cable car up the mountain to the city of san marino (the country has several other towns surrounding monte titano, the mountain on which the capital city is perched). ^^

 
 
^^outside and inside the plazzo pubblico, san marino’s town hall and the country’s seat of government. we got to go right into the room where san marino’s parliament meets. ^^

^^ best family selfie yet?? not much background, but look at those smiling faces! ^^

in the city of san marino, there are three towers on the three peaks of monte titano, and you can walk to each of them along a pretty cobblestoned path with sweeping views of the pretty countryside on both sides. we went to the first two towers but decided to head back into town for dinner instead of trekking on to the third. it was really hot that day and we were so sweaty with the kids!
 
 
 
we found this fountain and let the boys run and play around there for a while…
 
…and moses decided to go ahead and dunk his head in. haha! i bet that felt really good to cool off!
 
 
 
^^ we found a pretty perfect sunset spot for a pizza dinner! ^^

 
^^ and then rode back down the cable car. ^^
 
^^ we found this moses-sized knight on the way to our airbnb in rimini, where i had to snap a photo of gabriel’s amazing blue eyes and long eyelashes, and his darling little freckles which for some reason have only shown up on one side of his face! ^^

the beach at rimini is pretty incredible. sun loungers and sun umbrellas dotted close together along the sand as far as the eye can see! we ended up at beach area number 89, and there must have been several hundred along that stretch of coast. every little beach area has a cafe, some bathrooms and showers, and a playground. crowds and commercialization is not my idea of ideal beach time … but i have to say this was pretty much heaven for the kiddos! we spent the day going back and forth from the playground to the water.
 

and that’s a wrap on our gardening-leave-wild-awesome-summer! the morning after we got home from san marino, ian started his new job in london.