Headed north out of Rome, and visited the small country of San Marino, San Marino (not to be confused with the former Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino), is the fifth smallest country in the world, and is comprised mostly of small villages on a hill and about 100 acres of parking lots to support all of the people that came to visit the village on the hill. San Marino, really has little more to offer that all of the other villages on the hills in Europe, except of course the tourists, parking lots and cheaper gasoline. Veni, vidi, vici.
Continued my route north through Italy and crossed into Slovenia. My first impressions were a little guarded, the buildings on the border were Soviet era communist style construction, I was afraid the rest of the country was going to be similar, but not so much. The country is absolutely gorgeous. A mixture of Swiss and German influences, with most of the people fluent in English and very cordial and inviting. I stayed off of the interstates for most of my riding here, Once across the border I headed for the Alps though the back roads. There were a bunch of small villages that I ran into along the way. The villages were small, picturesque and looked like they came out of a Disney children's book. I wound my way though the Alps as the rain started coming down hard, topped a range, and passed into Austria. The riding here in this part of the Europe is just fantastic. Little to no traffic, twisty mountain riding, and decent roads, who could ask for more when touring an area I have only dreamed about.
Stage Distance: 724mi (1,168km)
Total Distance Traveled: 17,806mi (28,720km)
Countries/Territories Visited: USA, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, Canada, Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Gibraltar, France, Monaco, Italy, Vatican City, San Marino. Slovenia, Austria
Continued my route north through Italy and crossed into Slovenia. My first impressions were a little guarded, the buildings on the border were Soviet era communist style construction, I was afraid the rest of the country was going to be similar, but not so much. The country is absolutely gorgeous. A mixture of Swiss and German influences, with most of the people fluent in English and very cordial and inviting. I stayed off of the interstates for most of my riding here, Once across the border I headed for the Alps though the back roads. There were a bunch of small villages that I ran into along the way. The villages were small, picturesque and looked like they came out of a Disney children's book. I wound my way though the Alps as the rain started coming down hard, topped a range, and passed into Austria. The riding here in this part of the Europe is just fantastic. Little to no traffic, twisty mountain riding, and decent roads, who could ask for more when touring an area I have only dreamed about.
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| San Marino |
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| Slovenia Rest Stop |
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| Crossing Alps into Austria |
Stage Distance: 724mi (1,168km)
Total Distance Traveled: 17,806mi (28,720km)
Countries/Territories Visited: USA, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, Canada, Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Gibraltar, France, Monaco, Italy, Vatican City, San Marino. Slovenia, Austria
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