Genoa

The next stop on our cruise was the City of Genoa.

Walking to the City

We originally had booked a walking tour of Genoa for the day but decided we could just explore the city on our own. Janie had been to Milan and J. R. had no desire to take the long bus ride there, so we thought we would do a 'mini sea-day' by spending the half-day in the city and then going back on the ship. After exiting the ship, J. R. chose to follow the cruise director's suggestion of a leisurely walk along the waterfront. It was instead a walk in front of a bunch of warehouses and industrial buildings and a little bit of water. But we found the pirate galleon and took some photos and then walked into the old city.

Via XXV Aprile

Due to an inability to cross the street near the pirate ship, we ended up not heading the direction J. R. had mapped out. We instead ended up walking up to the Via XXV Aprile, with its colorful display of umbrellas spanning the street.

Piazza di Ferrari

We found our way to the Piazza di Ferrari as our first stop. This is a huge public square with a fountain and one of the major landmarks of Genoa.

Doge's Palace

We stopped in the Piazza Giacomo Matteotti, and viewed the Palazzo Ducale from the exterior. This "Doge's Palace" was originally the seat of government and home of the 14th century rulers.

Porta Soprana

The Porta Soprana, the ancient gates of the old city, now rose before us as we headed towards Christopher Columbus' house.

Cloister of Saint Andrew

Rebecca posed for some photos in the Cloister of Saint Andrew (Sant'Andrea) near Columbus' house.

Banca Italia

We walked right past Columbus' house the first time because there was a tour group blocking the sign and ended up outside the Banca Italia headquarters with its armed guards outside.

Columbus' House

After checking our maps, we doubled back to the small building that had been Columbus' home.

Cattedrale di San Lorenzo

We weren't interested in touring inside buildings today, so we skipped going into the Cattedrale di San Lorenzo although we did walk past it. We paused at the monument to Giuseppe Garibaldi back near the Piazza De Ferrari before continuing our walk.

Via Garibaldi

Our next stop was the Via Garibaldi to view the outsides of some of the old palaces.

Piazza della Nunziata

Our stroll took us past the Piazza della Nunziata, named for the Cathedral Santissima Annunziata del Vastato in the norther corner.

Palazzo Gio Francesco Balbi

We next found ourselves in the Palazzo Gio Francesco Balbi, which gave us a chance to go inside and look at some of the 16th century architecture in a cooler location.

Palazzo Reale

Finally we made our way to the Palazzo Reale after walking in circles for awhile. We chose not to go inside but instead admired the architecture from the outside.

Train Station

We found ourselves now near the train station, which was not far from the port where our ship had docked.

Lunch

One of our goals was to eat at an authentic Italian cafe and Bar Cavo fit the bill. We had our first language issue of the trip here as the waiter spoke almost no English and we spoke almost no Italian. But eventually we got past that and had some excellent pasta and a good local birra. Janie enjoyed a local pesto while J. R. had lasagna and Rebecca ravioli ragu.

Back to the Magic

We made our way back to the old port building and reboarded the Magic shortly before 1PM.

Afternoon on the Magic

We walked back to the ship and boarded and Rebecca went up on deck to the pool to get in some swim. She floated in the pool and watched a movie on the big screen while the adults had a few drinks and sat in the adult area. J. R. had another Refashioned and Janie another cider as we walked some of the World Cup on the TVs at the pool bar. Rebecca headed off to see Incredibles 2 in the Buena Vista Theater while the parents moved to the pub for some more World Cup and some more beer and wine. We stayed in the pub for the Snuggly Duckling Takeover, where Rebecca and her gang won the Thuggo game and got free temporary duckling tattoos. Then it was time for dinner. Our tablemates reclaimed their daughter tonight and we talked about our day's excursions as they had headed off to Milan.

Tequila Tasting

After dinner, it was time for another tasting with Fletcher in the Cove Cafe. It was one Janie was looking forward to, Tequila and Margaritas. We had a couple of shots of various tequila and then sampled a pair of small margaritas as we learned the history of tequila and why mescal has a worm in the bottle.

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