cugini

Cugini is the Italian word for cousins.  Holden has been waiting for the day his cousins (Andrew and Patrick) would visit us in Italy ever since the first day we arrived at the villa in August.  He was so excited that first day to see that he had a bunkbed because that meant that either Andrew or Patrick could sleep with him when they were here. Not a week has passed while we've been in Italy that he hasn't mentioned this, trying to decide who he thinks will want to sleep on the top bunk. So, when the  Nanneys finally arrived in a taxi at the villa on a Tuesday evening, he was thrilled. We knew Holden would want to stay up as late as possible with the boys, so we didn't even attempt to put him to sleep until around 9:30, with Patrick in his bunkbed.

staying up too late

The next day everyone awoke pretty well rested and we came up with a plan for the day. We decided to take a slow, scenic walk down to the Porto Antico and aquarium.

lots of walking down

We first walked through Castelleto and then took the elevator down at the Spianata and went to Via Garibaldi. Then we went to Piazza Ferrari and rode the metro to the Porto Antico.

view of the harbor from the Spianata Castelletto

riding the elevator

Elissa, David, Andrew, Patrick, and Holden at palazzo on Via Garibaldi

Patrick and Elissa in Piazza Ferrari

Andrew and Holden at Piazza Ferrari

boys being silly in front of statue at Mueso Lazzati in Porto Antico

I knew I needed to save the boys legs so that we could get back to the villa later in the day. We walked around the harbor, ate lunch at Eataly, and then visited the aquarium.

eating at Eataly

playing foosball at Eataly

playing foosball at Eataly

This was our first visit to the aquarium in Genova and I think it was definitely worth it. The boys really enjoyed seeing the penguins, watching the sharks be fed, and seeing the baby dolphin. We spent the greater part of the afternoon here and then headed back to the villa to rest before dinner.

looking for manatees

waiting for the dolphins to surface

dolphin

mother and baby dolphin

jellyfish

watching the shark feeding

For dinner we took the funicolare up to the pizzeria at Righi. Then it was Andrew's turn to sleep in Holden's bunk bed.

waiting on the funicolare

Patrick and Elissa riding the funicolare

view of the city lights from Righi

view of the city lights from Righi

The next morning was Thursday, Thanksgiving. We decided to go out to a cafe for breakfast, but since it was raining opted not to go to our normal cafe (with outdoor seating) and to go to Mangini instead. It was a great breakfast spot and afterwards we walked through the galleria and happened upon an antique market. I found some great Christmas presents here. Then we left the Nanneys to go shopping on their own on Via XX Settembre, while we went back to the villa to oversee the Thanksgiving preparations. When the Nanneys returned, all three boys made pumpkin pies. Once everything was in order for the dinner the boys played in the villa for awhile and then we went to the Spianata for a pre-Thanksgiving gelato (that Holden opted out of!).

cioccolata calda at Mangini

Legos at Mangini

pumpkin pie making

helping with Thanksgiving

more pumpkin pie making

waiting for the guests to arrive

The day after Thanksgiving, everyone was a little tired so we took it easy in the morning and slowly made our way down to Via Garibaldi. Elissa and the boys had a few souvenirs in mind that they were looking for and Silvia had sent us to Via Garibaldi to search. Dave and Luca met up with us and Luca took us to a few other shops in the Centro Storico and then along Via XX Settembre and by the end of the day, everyone had found almost all that they were looking for.

Andrew in cloister at San Matteo

Elissa and Patrick on Via San Lorenzo (with Christmas decorations)