Day 10: Venice to Sirolo

Departing early in the morning, we wasted no time to head down the coast toward our next destination which was a camping site a little south of Ancona. Heading out of Venice, we drove south amongst the smoky haze that I guess had become all too common in this part of Italy.  

Deciding not to use the Autostrada in the morning, so that we could see a little more of the Italian countryside life, we meandered south along the coastal road passing through farmland and small towns. It was in one of these small towns that my resistance to McDonald's relented, and we stopped for brunch. When you live in Mongolia, McDonald's still is indeed exotic. 

The Italians don't seem to support McDonalds nearly so much as in other western countries, and we were surprised that we would need to wait until 11am (about 30 minutes) until it would open. During our wait, we did some shopping at a local shopping centre, filling the fridge again and also getting a few other handy automotive items to prepare the car for our voyage (e.g. tyre repair kit, windscreen washer detergent, etc.).

Returning to McDonalds, you could hear a pin drop inside. The staff were noticeably to surprised to have customers so early, and they set about fulfilling a pretty simple order. Ten minutes later, I was coming to appreciate why Italians don't go to McDonalds, leaving with the order still not completed!

San Marino... who knew?

After the short break shopping and at McDonalds, we continued south with the intent of visiting San Marino, the capital city of the tiny Republic of San Marino - a tiny enclave wholly within Italy. This country is known as the world's oldest republic and Europe's third smallest state after the Vatican and Monaco, covering about 60 square kilometres and home to about 25 thousand people.

Neither of us knew much about San Marino, but after driving up the hill toward the towers prominently overlooking the state, we parked the car in what we thought was a central location and got out to have a look. Walking further up the hill, it was clear that we could park more centrally for a better look around, so back down again and driving further up to park underneath the towers. 

We had a milkshake each at a cafe beneath one of the towers, before trudging up the hill under fierce sun to have a look inside. The castle itself was 'not much' compared to the grandeur of Neuschwanstein, however the views in all directions over San Marino were fantastic. 60 square kilometres is a bigger area than it sounds; there was plenty of farmland and numerous towns within view outside of the capital city.

With inspection of the castle complete, we walked back through the old town, which was surprisingly devoid of tourist traps. The narrow cobbled streets and stone buildings looked great against the backdrop of the countryside far below. Though we could have stayed longer, after getting our passports filled in (you can pay for the privilege of a 'tourist visa'), we were on our way again. Hopefully I won't regret burning half a page in my passport with this later in the voyage!

San Marino... who would have guessed that there was countryside?

Government house in San Marino. I was refused entry on the excuse the 'official business' was in progress.

One of two towers that you can visit whilst in San Marino. The third is mysteriously off limits.

Privacy and defence,  two design criteria now not so common.

The second tower that can be visited.

Smaller than a Bongo... this unit could be a top seller in Mongolia I think!

Camping on the Adriatic Sea

Continuing south toward our camping destination, there was not too far to travel so we again stayed off the Autostrada. This time winding through countryside villages both in San Marino and then Italy, it did not take too long to reach Sirolo, a coastal village perched high above the Adriatic just south of Ancona and surrounded by national park. 

Arriving about 5.30pm, we were quick to park and then head straight to the Beach. A steep path lead down the otherwise cliffside to the beach, providing excellent views of what was below. Gerle was in anticipation of the beach, having only experienced it before in Hong Kong. I had talked about sandy beaches, having seen photos of this beach from afar during our holiday research, but on closer inspection it was a pebbly beach with no sand to be seen. Unperturbed we went for a 'swim' anyway... me swimming, and Gerle content to wade in the shallows. The water was clean and clear, and the sunshine was warm without needing to slip, slop, slap. 

Headed to the beach, from the camping ground.

Almost a golden sandy beach... but still a pebbly beach up close.

Enjoying the evening sunshine, about 6pm.

Me, scaring the locals...

Gerle, about to go for her first beach swim since her beach introduction in Hong Kong.

No, not a conjoined twin.

Looking down at the beach on the walk back to the campsite.

Back in the camp, we quickly setup the tent and brought out our table and chairs for a simple meal and a few drinks. Not cooking again, we had a cold meal of yummy meats, cheeses, pickled seafoods and fresh salad vegetables that we had bought at the surprisingly well stocked camp shop on the way back from the beach. 

The lady in the delicatessen was quite amused that two non Italians were so interested in purchasing such foods. After watching our neighbours in camp, we deduced that there were not too many English speaking travellers here; mainly domestic and a few other Europeans. Maybe the Adriatic coast doesn't see to many 'foreigners'.

The camp ground itself was quite busy. We were setup on a corner that saw a lot of through traffic from residents en route to the ablutions, swimming pool, beach and tavern. There aren't too many Landcruisers getting around Italy, and fewer with a roof on top. The conversations regarding both were nonstop from the passing traffic, and more than a few people stopped to try and communicate with us. There seemed to be a thousand kids causing havoc in camp, and t was amusing to watch whilst eating dinner and having a few drinks in the dying sunlight. As the sun went down, we retired to bed.

Dinner back at camp.

Kids running amok and having an absolute ball in camp.