Italian Road Trip Day 2 :: Assisi & San Marino

Early Friday morning we woke up in Foligno, a random little town that happened to have a Holiday Inn Express where we could use hotel points.  (Not very cultural of us… but it worked!)  Our goal that day was to enjoy Assisi in the morning, make it to the tiny landlocked country of San Marino that night, and then find our hotel in Rimini on the Adriatic.  We packed our bags, strapped our daughter into her car seat, and we were off on another day of Italian road trippin’ adventure!

Assisi, home of St. Francis of Assisi, was breathtaking:

Pictured below is the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, the mother church of the Franciscan Order.  The multi-level cathedral consisted of an Upper Church (magnificent Gothic style), a Lower Church (much older, built into the hillside under the Upper Church), and a crypt containing remains of St. Francis.  No pictures allowed inside, unfortunately.

We ate lunch in a little trattoria recommended by our Fodor’s guide.  Lena received endless personal attention from the waiters, including complimentary pasta and a cookie.  She wanted to share her cookie with everyone and her parents, at least, were happy to help her out with a bite or two!

We left Assisi and turned off the main highway onto a winding back road through the countryside.  I failed to take any pictures, probably because by the time I realized “I should be taking pictures” I was full length in the grass beside a church, recovering from car sickness.  Sigh.  Will you believe me if I say the rolling hills of Italian farmland were worth the rolling stomach?

We drove into San Marino around dinnertime.  The Republic of San Marino is a 24-square-mile country that is completely surrounded by Italy.  Few people have heard of it, but Lena will have to remember it her whole life because it is the 15th country she’s visited!

We took a cable car up to the highest point of the city.  We could see for miles: the Adriatic Sea, the Apennines, and endless glorious green countryside.