I'm getting ready for my final sleep in Genoa, and I'm reflecting on the three days we've had here. My first impressions of this city weren't great. This was based on the run down appearance and gritty feel the city has. On Tuesday we saw a small part of the old city and had a good time at the aquarium. We ended our evening with some real Italian pizza, but even though the food was tasty, the atmosphere just lacked any charm, and the staff seem completely indifferent to us being there. We have found this same sentiment throughout our three days: a bus ticket salesman almost wouldn't sell me tickets because I didn't speak Italian The most pleasant interaction I had may have been from the prostitute who gave me directions. To be fair, I should also add that our Airbnb host is lovely.
Wednesday my opinion of the city went up. With the sun shining, we toured more of the old city which is filled with narrow walking streets and little shops, and we had a fun time visiting the small, but pleasant biosphere, the "Bigo", a small capsule that lifts you up to view the city and the Antarctic museum.
Molly, George and John prepared for Antarctic exploration
A cold beer after lots of walking
Today, Thursday, we visited the final museum in our package of five. The ship museum was pretty impressive. There were several ships we could climb aboard, such as a galleon to row and an immigration ship set to bring Italians to New York in the early 1900s. We tried to pretend we were on the ship my grandpa Beachli would have boarded when he left Switzerland for Halifax in about 1926. Dad relayed a few of the stories he could recall. What a sea-sick experience that must have been!
The kids' highlights of the museum were the 4D experience, where we were set in a life boat at sea and the real submarine in the harbour. I also think the kids enjoyed the fact there were very few signs in English so that Grandpa and I wouldn't take so long ready "boring stuff."
The kids' highlights of the museum were the 4D experience, where we were set in a life boat at sea and the real submarine in the harbour. I also think the kids enjoyed the fact there were very few signs in English so that Grandpa and I wouldn't take so long ready "boring stuff."
ready to board the submarine behind us
George preparing to be a human torpedo
So we've been trying to be frugal on this 6 month journey, and one way to reduce spending is to accept smaller than average accommodations. We thought we'd show you our bunking arrangements this week....just kidding. Our two bedroom apartment is quite nice.
our bunks on a submarine
We spent the afternoon and evening eating pasta and trying to find the charm of Genoa that I hoped was hidden somewhere. Other than this pretty park celebrating home-town hero, Christopher Columbus' three ships, and a few well maintained buildings, we didn't find a lot to improve my opinion of the city. But maybe, I shouldn't be demanding cookie-cutter tourism from every city we go to. Maybe, I should appreciate more the rugged , middle-class blah-ness of this place...maybe not. I feel a little sad that I'm walking away from this place knowing I'm unlikely to make the effort to come back. I haven't felt that way about anywhere else yet.
So farewell, Genoa. We had fun, but we're off to Pisa in the morning.
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