So my titanium watch finally died. I replaced the battery twice this year. The second time, it stopped less than a week after the new battery and the band broke! It's dead, Jim.
I feel naked without a watch. I always have worn one. My grandma (mother's side) bought me a nice big heavy watch when I was just a kid in elementary school that I loved. Having a big analog watch as a little kid set me apart from the others, and I have just continued wearing those kinds of watches over the years. My last watch was a titanium watch from Eddie Bauer, but they don't carry them any more. I did manage a decade of service from that one.
So we did a little watch shopping in Andorra. I found a titanium one I liked, but we did not know the brand and the man at the counter was not quick (with two customers ahead of us) so we left. I did a little internet sleuthing and found the brand, Festina. It apparently is a nice Swiss brand, so they should be reputable. But the store I found is in Italy, in San Marino.
San Marino is actually another European micro state. I had heard of Lichtenstein, Luxembourg, and Monaco. Everyone knows the Vatican. I think I had heard of Andorra. I even know about Sealand. But I never knew that San Marino was a separate country. Wikipedia says it is the oldest sovereign state (from 301 AD) and the oldest constitutional republic still under their original constitution (1600).
But the killer is, we drove right past it in Italy back in the Fall. It is a few miles from Rimini Beach, south of Venice. We drove along the shore near Rimini and saw the Italians on the shore, but never thought to hike over to see San Marino. Maybe next time?
Fischer - From France. Big bottle, nice color. Interesting tast, not bad.
Eichbaum Hefeweizen - Not my favorite hefe, but ok. Maybe my taste is off with this illness?
Fischer