San Marino - the city state founded by Marinus

Go on holiday to any part of northern Italy and most likely you’ll be offered a day trip to one of the tiniest European countries, namely San Marino in the Apennine Mountains. With a size just over 60 square kilometres and a population of around 30,000, San Marino is the oldest sovereign state in the world, and was founded as a democratic city state in the year 301 by Marinus, a Christian stonemason from the island of Rab in Croatia.

San Marino is the third smallest country in Europe, with only the Vatican City and Monaco being smaller. It is not actually a member of the EU, but by special arrangement its currency is the euro, and San Marino has its own designs on the national side of the coins.

San Marino has no airports or railway stations, and the nearest place to arrive by rail or by air is Rimini.

There are no border controls, and San Marino mainly consists of its small picturesque capital city on the slopes of Monte Titano, named San Marino, and a number of surrounding towns. It is the fascinating walled city of San Marino that visitors head for, and once you are there it is small enough to just walk around. There are only a few streets where cars can go, and they would have to be small cars to negotiate the narrow streets.

The Three Towers of San Marino are located on the three peaks of Monte Titano, and appear on the flag of San Marino and its coat of arms. The oldest tower goes back to the eleventh century, with the other two being added in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries respectively.

The cuisine of San Marino is very much the same as that of surrounding Italy with tasty pasta dishes, and meat and fish dishes served with fresh vegetables and tasty bread rolls. However cake lovers will be pleased to hear that San Marino has a famous Torta Di Tre Monti, which is a type of layered wafer cake covered in chocolate. Another local speciality is the lemon liqueur known as limoncello. In San Marino you can also get the lovely gelato of the region, as well as excellent coffee.

So if you get the chance of a day trip to San Marino, be sure to take the opportunity to explore the narrow and characterful streets of this fortified mountain top enclave.


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Swiss canton bans hiking in the altogether

In case you were planning on going hiking with no clothes on this summer holiday, you will be disappointed to hear that it’s no longer allowed in the Swiss canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden. If you are found hiking in the lovely mountains of this tiny Swiss canton wearing only hiking boots you will be fined.

So how did this come about? Well, the local government of this picturesque canton found that it had to take action when naked hiking suddenly became popular in the region. The sudden influx of nude hikers happened a couple of years ago, with most of the naturists being from Germany, where FKK, or “free body culture” is quite popular. This did not please the worthy citizens of Appenzell Innerrhoden, which is considered to be one of the most conservative regions of Switzerland, only giving women the vote in 1990.

"We were forced to introduce the legislation against this indecent practice before the warm weather starts," said Melchior Looser, justice minister of the canton said earlier in the year.

"The point is many children visit our mountains in the summer".

In the UK Steve Gough, aka The Naked Rambler, walked from Lands End to John O’Groats in the nuddy, but was arrested and imprisoned several times.

So if you still fancy some naked hiking you could head for Alaska, where nude hiking is largely tolerated, probably because your chances of running into other human beings in the wilderness are fairly remote.



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Saint-Tropez - sun, sea and scented pinewoods

With this bizarre British summer we’ve been having, right now I wouldn’t mind being in Saint-Tropez. Located on the French Riviera, Saint-Tropez became popular back in the 1950’s, when it was just a quiet fishing village, as the playground of the rich and famous. Needless to say, it didn’t stay a quiet fishing village for long, and now it is a top vacation destination where you can spot celebs visiting for a sunny break in between all that hard work.

Like most Riviera resorts, it is lovely to walk along the harbour promenade, with a great view of the fantastic luxury yachts and the sea on one side, and fashionable shops, top cafes and restaurants on the other. But you’ll actually find that some of the best beaches in the area are a little along the coast in the Baie de Pampelonne, just south of Saint-Tropez.

One popular hotel is the Chateau Hotel de la Messardiere which is located up on the hillside in the scented pinewoods that overlook the Bay of Saint-Tropez. This four star luxury hotel with its simple yet elegant interiors has a spa, a gourmet restaurant, a poolside restaurant, bars, and even an art gallery. This classic French chateau has no less that 25 acres of beautiful grounds where you will find colourful flowers, green lawns, and plenty of local wild birds, for whom the grounds are a wonderful sanctuary. And perhaps the best thing about the chateau is the stunning view over the blue Mediterranean.

So if it starts raining again, I’m off to Saint-Tropez.


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Lowlands 2009, The Netherlands

If you like alternative music, pop, rock, dance, hip hop, stand-up comedy, theatre, street theatre, movies, and the Netherlands too, then you’ll probably enjoy Lowlands 2009 in Holland, also charmingly known as A Campingflight to Lowlands Paradise.

Described as “Glastonbury meets Goa”, this year Lowlands takes place over 21-23 August at Biddinghuizen, right next to the Walabi World amusement park (now there’s a novelty). This year there is a line up to die for, with Arctic Monkeys, Kaiser Chiefs, Kasabian, Little Boots, The Maccabees, Maximo Park, The Prodigy, Dizzee Rascal, Razorlight, Reverend and the Makers, Vampire Weekend, Eagles of Death Metal, Enter Shikari, Bloc Party, and the stunning Grace Jones. But there are even more bands and acts than this.

Tickets come in at 150 euros, which includes camping and a shuttle bus from the railway station. If camping is roughing it a little bit for you then, then you could always go up market and rent a PodPad. And if that still seems a bit too rough, you could always look for some budget accommodation nearby.

As well as the music there is the theatre, movies both indoor and outdoor, comedy in both English and Dutch, visual arts type of stuff, and even literature events. The whole thing promises to be a real feast for the senses, and there is even a 24 hour pub.

Biddinghuizen is a town in the Dutch province of Flevoland, and Lowlands has grown to be one of the biggest and most popular music festivals in the Netherlands, attracting about 60,000 festival goers each year, to see over 200 acts on more than ten stages. The festival is sponsored by Grolsch, which is nice to know, because I am not averse to a bottle or two of their beer.

If you are worried about rain you might be pleased to hear that most of the stages are inside large tents, with the largest one covering an area the size of a football pitch.

So if you want to combine a trip to one of the coolest festivals on the planet with a trip to one of the coolest countries, Lowlands it is.


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