Genoa, Liguria, Italy, Friday, September 14, 2012

On the Train to Genova

Today is probably our longest travel day on the trip. From San Marino to Genoa, we travel from near one coast of Italy over to the other. It should be an easy blog day for me. Breakfast and check out goes smoothly and we wait for the bus in a light rain. The bus arrives but the driver says five more minutes before we can get on. He gets off and disappears. Then he comes back in 5 minutes, lets us and a few other people on and goes across the street to a small ticket booth and hangs out with the lady in there and has a smoke. We leave 5 minutes late, but we have a 25 minute or so window from when the bus is supposed to arrive to our train departing.
The ride back to Rimini goes fast and we arrive on time so we do not have to rush to find our train. It says track one but while we are waiting, Carol notices the departure board now says track 4. Good catch by Carol. We move on over to track 4, a train is there, and I confirm with the conductor that it is the right train. It is, so we get on and sit. We now have a 3 hour and 20 minute ride to Piacenza, where we then switch trains to go to Genoa. That ride will be another hour and 45 minutes. See you in Genoa!
We made it to Genoa or as it is called here, Genova. Leaving the train station where there was it a Tourist Information booth, we walk out into a bustling city and immediately get misplaced. Finding a spot away from the hustle and bustle, we take out the IPad and look at a map. If we stay to the left of the highway above us we should get close enough to figure out the rest. We are right by the cruise ship port in the Mediterranean. We walk and pass a metro station which signifies we are moving in the right direction. We cross the street and walk under a long portico. The streets and sidewalks are busy with activity. From tiny San Marino, to this, is quite a culture shock.I recognize the look of a street from when I did a google maps street view many months ago. The memory is obviously still going strong.

Palazzo Morali Room

There is a big police van right outside our hotel door. Is this supposed to make you feel safer or worry more? We have not figured that one out yet. Ringing the buzzer, a voice answers, and tells us to come up to the 4th floor. We are greeted by Admiji from India who is very nice and checks us in. We picked this place because it was an old palace. The room has period type furniture from the 1800s and is very cool. We have a porthole view in the bathroom looking over a harbor out to the sea.

Devout Worshipper

All checked in, we decide to visit Palazzo Reale, where the Duke of Savoy used to hang out. We were given a city map at check in so we have an easy time finding it. Along the way, we pass a church and have to go in. The church of St Annastasia is very beautiful. After praying for all the poor working people(ha, ha), we walk down the street to the Palazzo. We did not have a lot of information on this but it turned out to be really nice. We saw quite a few rooms lavishly decorated and some great artwork. There were English descriptions in every room and the museum lady who walked around with us spoke great English and could answer questions. We ended up spending more than an hour touring the palace and hanging in its courtyard.

Narrow Street

Returning to near the hotel, we go to check out a restaurant for dinner. The street it is on proves difficult to find. First, we are not on streets as we know them in the United States. The streets are labeled but most are about three foot wide surrounded by tall apartment type buildings. We pass fruit stands and fish stores with people buying on their way home. It is a bit dark from the lack of sun penetrating these city canyons. Carol does not like the feeling of it from a security standpoint, but I think we are alright. There was maybe one shady deal going down in a small side alley but there were plenty of people moving along and with the small shops, I thought it was just a neighborhood of a different beast. After the shops closed and all, I might have felt different. We find the restaurant and it looks alright but we decide to check out a street fair we had passed near the hotel. It turns out to be what we think is a fundraiser for the democratic party. We do not care as there is good food at great prices. Carol gets a plate of fresh pasta with pesto sauce and I get a bowl of spaghetti and clams. A half liter of wine for 3 Euros seals the deal. It was very good. We wander around to where they have some accordion music and a dance floor. We dance to Italian music and enjoy the whole scene.

Genova Waterfront

We wander away from the fair area and walk along the harbor. We see an outdoor food area and one place is just packing them in with quite a line. Moving closer to see what all the fuss is about and they are selling something called Focacette Di Crevari. From what we can tell it is a fried dough round that they then stuff with meat, cheese, or nutella. Now we have to get in line to try one. I order in one line and then get in another to await them to call our number. It is all in Italian so it is a good thing I practiced my counting before we came over here. Vente, vento uno, vento due, is us and we hand the ticket to the signora. Now she tells them what to put on it and they wrap it and call your number again. We have ham and cheese folded into the hot fried dough. It is quite tasty. We may have to open a stand in the U.S.A. It has gotten quite late so back to our palace room for the night.
CNC
“If you reject the food, ignore the customs, and avoid the people, you might better stay at home”-James Michener

Expenses
56.70E- 2 train tickets to Genoa
8E- entry to Palazzo Reale
13.50E-pasta and wine from Festa Democratica Genova Spaghetteria
4E- Focacette Di Crevari
77E-Palazzo Morali

Miles Walked- 4.5 Miles