
Setting ourselves the target to visit (together) a total of 70 countries by Christmas 2015 took a little bit of planning. It was during Christmas 2014 when we found ourselves with plenty of spare time on a cruise ship, that we took inventory of the countries visited (approximately 40) and decided that 30 more would be achievable. So that led us to pick some micro-countries as 'easy wins' and the proximity of the Republic of San Marino to our Italian destinations and onward travel to the Balkan states meant that we could afford a day's detour.