Genova

We are headed to Genova today. Some may know it by its English name, Genoa. Its located on the Mediteranean coast, about 2.5 hours southwest of us.

We left the house around 11am and headed south. The weather was cloudy and even foggy in areas as we drove toward the coast. We also noticed that there was snow on the ground about an hour south of Milano. The last 30 kilometers cross through the Appeninne mountains region before the coast. There was a bit more snow in this area, and still cloudy.

At one point we entered one of several tunnels and found sunshine on the coastal side. We found our hotel, Novotel, pretty quickly. After checking in and getting settled in our room, we drove down to the waterfront.

Genova is a port city on the Mediterranean Sea. It is located in the Genoa province in the region of Liguria and has a population of almost 611,000. Genova's history dates back to ancient times. The first historically known inhabitants are the Ligures. Etruscan, Roman, Phoenicians, and Ostrogoths have all been documented to live in the area, thanks in part to the natural harbor. You can read a detailed history on Wikipedia.

We drove down to the harbor and found parking near the aquarium, a destination for us later in the evening.

Our first plan was to check out the old city and find some lunch. The streets of the old city are more like narrow lanes. For the most part they are all pedestrian only zones, many of them too small for cars anyway. Each street is full of shops, cafes, and bars - from local merchants to high end luxury shops.

We found lunch at the Orient Express Kabap cafe (yes, I spelled that right. There are kababs and kabaps, although I'm not sure what the difference is??).

After a tasty lunch we worked our way uphill towards Piazza de Ferrari. This piazza is surrounded by the opera house and the Palace of the Doges.



Piazza de Ferrari


Fountains in Piazza de Ferrari

Adjacent to Piazza de Farrari is Piazza de Ducale. This one is sort of an indoor piazza with a few shops and art galleries. We found a free art exhibit called Dumping Art. Its art made completely of recycled goods: tires, bottle caps, iron, clothing, bottles, electronics and so much more. The art was very cool!


A raging bull made out of old tires


Another cool sculpture

By late afternoon the clouds had settled in and there was a chilly breeze. We wandered the narrow streets and found our way up to Spianata Castelletto. We followed signs that led us underground to an elevator, but we didn't have enough change for the ticket machine. So, we made our way back out and headed up the narrow streets to the top. The guidebooks say that this is the best lookout in the city, with panoramic views of the whole old town, the port, the sea and the surrounding hills. The skies were pretty overcast and getting hazy, but we were rewarded with good views after the climb.


This was section two of about 4 sections we had to climb


The harbor. You can see 'small' cruise ships that are being refurbished.


Lanterna, the old lighthouse


Katrina and Brandon look towards the hills


On our way back down, although Brandon runs down and climbs back up to meet us...oh to be 8 years old.

It was getting colder and starting to get dark as we made our way back down to the old city. Brandon was on the hunt for a hot dog. Katrina and I enjoyed window shopping and occasasionally looking in the many shops. Brandon found his hot dog and Katrina found a cute little teapot for her growing collection.

It was time to head to the aquarium. The Genova Aquarium is the largest in all of Europe. We found it to be a very interesting and nicely laid out aquarium, with exhibits from all over the world.


The Genova Aquarium




Piranha


Octopus


I shall name you "Bronco" fish








Many different fish from all over the world

We decided to take one last walk into the old city so that Katrina could take some night shots. While wandering we found one of the old city gates and just outside was this ornate covered well.


Brandon poses near the covered well.

Just down the path from the well we found the house that is said to be the birthplace of Christopher Columbus, one of Genova's most famous citizens.

We were tired, hungry and it was getting chilly, so we made our way back to the car. Brandon thought we should eat dinner at the hotel. That turned out to be a good choice. He had pasta con pomodoro. Katrina had raviolis. I had pasta with swordsfish and artichokes. It was fantastic! Katrina and I both enjoyed a very good red wine with our dinners. Brandon has some gelato and I had tiramisu for dinner.

Off to bed after a fun and successful day...