2018 - Four Weeks in Italy
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The Hendersons 2018 - Four Weeks in Italy - Genova |
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2018 - Four Weeks in Italy |
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3 Maggio 2018 Our flight left DFW on May 2nd for LHR
where we had a five-hour layover. We had upgraded to business class, which was a
good move. The seats were comfortable, the food was excellent and the service
attentive on the flight over. We were also able to use the executive lounge at
LHR, so we were able to take a shower. After our layover we took a flight to
Nice to pick up our car, rented again from Renault USA at the expense of French
taxpayers. The flight to Nice was uneventful, but not as posh. We had trouble finding Renault, but eventually connected. The drive to Genoa was fine, but from there things went to hell in a handbasket. We had directions to parking, but Genova has crazy traffic, with thousands of motorini, narrow streets and no parking.
We finally found a parking spot, but it was not close to the
flat. We didn't know that Genova has the largest medieval district in all of
Europe. Streets are narrow and don't run straight and aren't always marked. We
walked around for at least an hour, dragging our suitcases behind us until we
found a couple who knew little Piazza where our lodging was located. Our hostess
was useless. She kept sending us WhatsApp messages, which we don't have and
Google maps, but we didn't have internet connection. Eventually the couple
helped us find the Piazza and the building. It was a little intimidating because
South American and African clandestini hang out in the neighborhood. Once we found the building the hostess buzzed us in remotely
and we faced four flights of steep stairs to get to the flat. The keys were
locked in a box beside the door, but we didn't have the code. The hostess sent a
friend, Rosella, to let is in. Rosella was most pleasant and helpful. We walked
back to our car, drove it to the parking garage then Rosella called a taxi to
take us back to the neighborhood. Things were looking up, she left us at a
restaurant, Gaia, and we had an excellent meal of chicken in a lemon sauce. Back
to the flat and four flights of stairs, a glass of wine and well-deserved sleep. 4 Maggio We walked to the Via Garibaldi, a few blocks up from our ancient building and a had a light breakfast of coffee and focaccia, then went to the waterfront for a stroll.
There was an interesting ship docked near the aquarium, turns
out it was built for a film directed by the world-famous child rapist, Roman
Polanski.
We found the tourist information, bought a self-guided walking tour tape and map, then took a hop on hop off tour of the city. This city must have been incredibly wealthy in the middle ages and renaissance, the architecture is fantastic. We had lunch purchased from a vendor in the Piazza on the waterfront, Siciliani arrancini, cannoli and a dessert that was pistachio, but I didn't get the name; later found out that it is cassata, which is served in nearly every pasticcieria in Sicilia. My goodness do we love Siciliana food.
We took our walking tour, got lost many times, had a gelato, got lost,
came back to the flat, took a brief nap and went back to the
restaurant where we had dinner last night. Tom had a pasta called cappelaccia,
round pasta filled with herbs and served with a sauce of walnuts. I had linguini
with fresh tomatoes and basil. We shared an amazing dessert of green apples,
caramel sauce, mascarpone and meringues. 5 Maggio We had hoped to go to Euro Flora, but it just wasn't
practical, as tickets had to be purchased in advance and we just weren't sure
about electronic delivery, so we had a light breakfast at a bar on Via Garibaldi
after we had cleared out of the apartment, then we took a cab to the parking
garage and retrieved our car. The hostess didn't meet us to get the parking
keys, instead she asked us to drop them off at a friend's business. We are very
dissatisfied with our hostess, it is almost as if she is paying us for the
inconvenience of having us stay in her apartment. |
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