The alarm went off at 07:00. Hugo had a restless night, but we had already booked the tickets, so we were going. We had coffee and left for Bologna Centrale at 08:00.

A 20-minute wait became a 40-minute wait because the train was late. Luckily, we had allowed 40 minutes in Rimini before the bus, although that had now become 20. Then, before we knew it, the train had made up the delay somewhere and we arrived even earlier than originally predicted.

Hugo and Caro on the train from Bologna to Rimini

Looking out of the window, we watched the Italian countryside going by. Next time we should definitely have a car and not just go from city to city.

In Rimini we walked to the bus stop and saw people already waiting even though the bus was only scheduled for 40 minutes later. We needed a toilet, so we walked back to Burger King, but its toilet was closed.

When we returned to the bus stop there was already a bus, with people getting on, and it was going to San Marino. Just as we reached the front, the driver said it was full and would take no more passengers, but another bus was coming. It did, and we got onto that one.

Fifty-five minutes and many metres higher, we were dropped off in San Marino.

One of San Marino's towers high on Mount Titano as seen during the bus ride

San Marino traces its foundation to AD 301 and regards itself as the world’s oldest surviving republic. Its historic centre and Mount Titano are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

We had not had breakfast yet, so we walked to a restaurant with great views over Italy. We ordered a pizza with prosciutto crudo, cheese and rocket, as well as a cappuccino and a cremino.

All three were good.

We entered the old city through the gate and climbed a narrow stairway beside the wall to the First Tower, Guaita. Tickets were €11 per person and included all the San Marino State Museums.

Caro with cappuccino and cremino at a restaurant overlooking Italy
Caro climbing the narrow stone stairs beside San Marino's city wall

The history and information inside the towers were a bit scarce, but the views were amazing. We continued along the ridge to the Second Tower, Cesta.

The view across San Marino through an opening in the First Tower Guaita
The stone walls and tower of Guaita, San Marino's First Tower

The countryside of Italy spread out below Mount Titano

We started feeling tired and not that good, so we sat on a park bench for a while and then went to sit inside the Basilica of Saint Marinus.

The Second Tower Cesta rising from the ridge above San Marino
The neoclassical interior of the Basilica of Saint Marinus

The old centre is basically a curio shop filled with random weapons and Harry Potter things.

Palazzo Pubblico and Piazza della Libertà in San Marino

We had bought return tickets for the 17:00 bus, which would only have put us back in Bologna at about 20:30. Not a great prospect.

Hugo then read that some people had successfully boarded earlier buses, so we went down to the stop for the 15:40 bus. Again, even though it was only 15:00, people were already waiting.

The driver of the first bus simply said no when he saw that our tickets were for 17:00. Instead of giving up, we waited for the second bus. That driver had no problem with it.

We reached Rimini by 16:30 and managed to change our train tickets to the 16:40 train. Much better than the 18:55 train we had originally booked.

All in, we had spent about five hours on trains and buses to see two towers.

Back in Bologna, we quickly went to Coop and bought a big packet of prosciutto crudo and a French baguette, which was the only bread left. We ate it at the apartment with the minestrone soup we had bought the previous day. Good food for the sicklings.

A stone gateway in San Marino's historic centre
Caro with minestrone, prosciutto crudo and baguette back at the apartment

After that we went straight to bed, only to be kept awake by a large concert in Piazza Maggiore for the Feast of San Petronio, Bologna’s patron saint.