Slept really well, probably as a result of all the running around yesterday.
We had planned to go to Cinque Terre today but decided since we’ve been pretty much nonstop over the last week or so will spend today in Genoa walking around.
Skipped the 15 euro hotel breakfast and headed to the main street of Genoa.
The weather had turned, it was cloudy and drizzling, but that was fine for walking.
We walked down a small street towards the main road and came across loads of small cafes serving various pies and pastries. We were heading to Starbucks (I know, but they are the only place I can guarantee soy milk) and thought we’d get something to eat there but then realised we should eat locally. We stumbled across the market and had a look around and then went back to a small cafe we’d passed earlier. We both had a slice of spinach and ricotta pie and Song had some cold cod and calamari with sliced capsicum in a vinaigrette sauce. Really nice and glad we decided to eat local fare.
Carried on down the main road; each side is covered, the ceilings high and the floors decorated with mosaics. The buildings are grand, with ornate carvings. We arrived at one of the main squares which had a fountain, took photos even though the day was grey.
Popped into a church – we often go into churches, despite not being religious, sometimes the most unassuming front of a church can have a fantastic interior. The one we went into was like that, the exterior was fairly elaborate but not overly, but the interior was amazing. If you find yourself in a European city just take some time to go into any church you pass, it’s well worth it. We were enjoying not having to rush to catch a train or be somewhere at a specific time, just wandering around.
We carried on and went into the cathedral, but we thought the other church was better, although the cathedral had a black and white marble theme throughout that was nice.
We walked down to the seafront, wandered along the front for a while but the rain was now falling harder, so we went to get lunch and looked through Google for a decent seafood restaurant, found one about 5 minutes away that looked good.
They had an option to pick from a selection of starters and main set menus so we chose that. We both had soup to start, then Song had mussels and I had 2 skewers, one with octopus and one mixed. Cost about $60, pretty good value.
We then got a bus to Boccadasse, a small area about 30 minutes from the centre of Genoa that is supposed to be nice, even though the weather was pretty miserable. The bus was jam-packed, we managed to squeeze on. The bus was really badly designed, the aisle was very narrow and there was hardly any space, there were kids sitting down not giving up their seats to old people (like me) and the bus would jerk every couple of minutes and everyone would be thrown about. Plus, at the next few stops, some more people got on but no-one got off, making the bus even more crowded. We looked for a machine to swipe the credit card but it was an older system that you had to buy tickets for at a shop, which we obviously didn’t so rode for free. A ticket inspector couldn’t have got on anyway.
When we arrived I looked at Google Maps to find the way to the front, but noticed some other people also looking so followed them and ended up at a nice spot. If you search for Boccadasse on google images this is what everyone takes a picture of.
We walked down to the beach, then up some stairs, then up a steep slope to a grand buidling. There were very few people around, so we had the area to ourselves for the most part. Got back on another crowded bus back to Genoa central, didn’t pay again, then went to the market to pick up some fruit. I wanted to find a place to have gelati, since I was in Italy, but we didn’t see one so I gave it a miss.
Back to the hotel to relax and watch some TV. Tomorrow we spend most of the day travelling to Marseille, where we stop for 3 nights, which gives us about 2.5 days to wander around.