Bologna is an interesting place. On one hand, the street are clean and there is no garbage, but a lot of graffiti (maybe that’s why its a Latin word)

My friend Daniel who lives in the north of this country explained that Bologna is a very left wing city, and high taxes and beaucracy stifle small businesses, making Italians leave for elsewhere. (NB; Daniel was once house sharing with me in London, a stressful grey city with terrible weather!)

This of course, is a very Catholic country, but in the centre here is a historic Jewish community, as can see from this plaque. There are evangelical churches here, but not a huge amount.

Restaurants are open for business, although with very few visitors. Sitting outside is pleasant and works well in current limitations. You are meant to wear a mask all the time outdoors, something I didn’t know till later in my trip.

Trains in Italy are great. Carriages are double decker like the ones I’ve been to in France, Germany and Holland. The journey to Rimini which is on the coast is in a straight line with no changes. The fare is reasonable, and a security guard ‘shoots’ me with a gun (which remotely shows my temperature) before I go to the platform.

As I visited between the two lock downs of 2020, and travelling made difficult, as no one knew which could get severed connections, this trip was a gamble, which I am very glad worked with very few problems.

1. Planning visit to my final tiny country – 2. Flying to Italy for the price of two pizzas – 3. Getting there from Bologna via Rimini – 4. City of Rimini – 5. Walking from Rimini to San Marino – 6. What sort of mini country is this – 7. Serraville, San Marino’s northern town – 8. San Marino’s only youth hotel – 9. Castles in the sky – 10. Safe up the top – 11. The tall centre of community of San Marino – 12. novelty shops, post office and passport stamps – 13. The government buildings and plaza – 14. Automobiles – 15. The three towers – 16. What I didn’t see & finishing up