arrivo

Leaving from Charlotte was not terribly difficult, all our checked baggage weighed in at 49.5 pounds or less (the max allowed is 50).  Upon arrival in Roma, we somehow lucked up and were allowed all the carry-on luggage we brought and we somehow slipped past without even having the bags weighed.  It was quite difficult just moving through the airport with all that luggage (9 bags total) but Holden helped and somehow we managed.  

We were pretty exhausted when we finally arrived at Cristoforo Colombo airport in Genova, but after a short taxi ride up the hill - the very steep hill - we were finally at the villa.  

views from the villa

The students and other staff would not arrive for another four days, so we were on our own for a little while.  After a good night's sleep, we first visited the cafe in the neighborhood of San Nicola for some espresso and the pasticceria for some pastries.  The villa is in the Castelleto region of Genova and it is just a short walk to San Nicola, but down some very steep steps and across the funicolare platform.  San Nicola is the nearest neighborhood to the villa with cafes and other stores, like the pasticceria, macelleria, tabacchi, frutteria, farmacia, pesceria, and carrefour supermarket.  

walk down to San Nicola

We spent the next few days exploring the old port (Porto Antico) and the various piazzas and small labyrinthine streets of the center of this medieval city.  

pizza in Piazza Lavagna

We live in the middle of the hill.  To get down to the centro storico you must walk down many many stairs that lead straight down.  (And then you must walk equally as many stairs to get back up.)  Or you can take the funicolare (cable car).  Or you take the ascensore (elevator).  All the paths lead down.  The centro storico is the largest preserved medieval city in Europe.  Once down in the middle of the medieval city center it is impossible not to get a little lost.  

tutte la scala (all the stairs)

However, if you walk down eventually all paths lead to the harbor called the porto antico, which was totally transformed in the 1990s by Genova's native son, architect Renzo Piano.  The porto antico has an aquarium (we hope to visit soon), a place called citta di bambini (city of the children) that I think is like a children's museum and library, and two nice playgrounds.  We spent some time eating gelato here and playing on the playgrounds.  Holden's favorite thing was running along the interior of this enormous pipe that we think was some type of art installation in the playground.

gelato!

Porto Antico

Genoa is not like the other more tourist-cnetered towns of Italy.  It is a port city and many cruise ships do dock here.  However, it is a bit grimy and very hard to navigate and you can walk around an entire day without seeing other tourists.  In a sense, you get a very realistic view of modern life in an ancient city.  Not everyone speaks English, some can and some can't, so Dave and Holden and I have been sitting in on an Italian class and are attempting to learn as much Italian as possible.  Today we went to a fruit store and Holden learned fragoli (strawberries).  Yesterday he learned mela (apple) e carote (carrot).  

fragola

On Sunday, we decided to explore the beaches of Genova.  From the centro storico, you go to the fifth avenue of Genova called Via XX Settembre and basically walk to the coast when the street ends.  Here you arrive at the Corso Italia, a beautiful promenade strung with beaches, both public and private.  The beaches in Genova are very beautiful with incredibly clear water, but also very rocky.  We found a nice public beach and Holden went swimming for awhile and then we walked the rest of the Corso Italia into Boccadasse, where the promenade terminates.  Boccadasse is a small fishing village and we were told we could find the best seafood there and we did.  Holden had calamari and swordfish and foccacia (which we incidentally have every morning for breakfast and is said to have been invented in Genova).  Dave and I had griglia mista (mixed grilled seafood).  Our restaurant was adjacent to the coast and delivered beautiful views of the setting sun.

beaches and Boccadasse