Genoa, Italy

Or as the Italians say, Genova, Italia.

For J's short two day break, we decided to explore a new part of Italy. We headed to Genoa in the region of Liguria, Italy.

The first afternoon/evening here, we spent walking around the city trying to orient ourselves. Here is the Piazza della Vittoria. In the back on the hill you can see a flower garden made in the shape of three ships.

Piazza De Ferrari

We are enjoying the fabulous focaccia bread, which is mostly found in northern Italy on the coast. I love focaccia bread, as is clearly seen in this photo.

The small historic center of Genoa reminded me a lot of Venice, minus the water. The center was filled with these narrow, winding, sloping streets. Much like Venice, it is hard to navigate your way using a map and you are much better just simply wandering around.

Dog poop on the sidewalk and streets is a big problem in Florence and in Italy in general. I always tell our visitors that they may be tempted to look up at all the old building and sights, but they have to keep their eyes on the ground to avoid stepping in poop. I liked these signs in Genoa. The dog and I share the same feelings about people that don't pick up after their dogs!

Genoa was, and still is, a major port city for Italy. Much of the city is centered around the harbor. The Porto Antico (the old port) is always full of action and crowds.

Here we are by the Porto Antico. The building to the right is the Aquarium. A little further down in the blog are a few pictures from our visit there.

After a wonderful seafood supper, we walked home. We passed many beautiful sights along the way including the fountain at Piazza de Ferrari.

The next morning, we set out to discover more of the city and started at the Acquario (Aquarium). This is the largest aquarium in all of Europe. It was quite obvious that many of the Italians were seeing the marine life for the first time. Don't get me wrong, it was a fun place, but we grew very tired of trying to fight our way to the window of every exhibit.

They had two dolphins that were very playful, it was fun watching them entertain the crowds and screaming children.

Mer mer mer

Penguins are awesome!

After the morning in the aquarium, we decided to take a short boat tour of the harbor. The brochure was in English, but sadly the tour was not - only Italian. Oh well, what we understood was interesting. The harbor was filled with cruise-ships, cargo boats, loading docks and yachts. As their slogan says, Genoa really is the "Gateway to the Mediterranean."

This picture was taken from the port looking back at the city. As you can see, it is a very "hilly" place. The rain clouds threatened all day, but we were staying dry, mostly...

This crazy contraption is called the "bigo." It is a revolving panoramic lift designed to resemble an old cargo derrick.

The architecture of the buildings in Genoa is a mixture of many different eras in Italian history. We especially liked this building. These men sure have a heavy weight to carry, don't they get tired?!

We had lunch here by Palazzo Ducale.

Cattedrale di San Lorenzo

Christopher Columbus was born in Genoa. This little brick building is his home.

As this picture shows, Genoa is a city of new and old. In the background, there is an old brick bridge connecting the hills to each other. The colorful buildings are very characteristic of Italian costal cities. You can also see the new highway and modern buildings they have built mixing the new in with the old.

After walking for a while, we decided to take a bus tour. We learned more about the city and saw some places we would have not seen otherwise.

As our tour was coming to an end, the clouds broke open and it started pouring! We took cover in a small bar and had a beer and some snacks.

We had another great Genoese meal before calling it a night. We got up early the next morning to take the train back to Florence so J could make it to work in time.

We had a fun time in Genoa!!