We arrived in Genoa this morning and had a wonderful view of the very famous Genoa Lighthouse. The cruise terminal in Genoa is very close to the city, so we could walk off and book the Hop On Hop Off bus. From the information about Genoa, we were expecting a very beautiful and interesting city. We rode the Red (Historic) line completely around to get an overview of Genoa.
Genoa Lighthouse (St. George Cross on the lighthouse is the symbol of Genoa)
We got off the bus at Piazza Caricamento with the intention of having our morning Cappuccino and walking thru the old part of the city following the walking tour. The Piazza was full of stalls with a wide variety of items. We browsed thru them and then found a place for our coffee. The Piazza was the first stop on the walking tour and the second stop was a very famous and beautiful building, the Palazzo San Giorgio. On the facade were murals of St. George killing the dragon. St. George is the patron saint of Genoa.
Palazzo San Giorgio
The third stop on the walking tour was the Piazza Banchi. Again there were sellers in the Piazza and the church there was very interesting. This plaza was where the grain traders bought and sold grain.
Church of San Pietro in Piazza Banchi
The next stop of the walking tour were the narrow alleys of Genoa, the Caruggi. These confusing and narrow alleys were part of the defense of Genoa in medieval times. The alleys were easily barricaded and the maze helped attackers and us to get lost. We did find a very nice store selling local olive oil and other things including a lemon marmalade. If you have been following us, you might have figured out that we travel on our stomachs and many of the souvenirs we purchased involve food in some fashion. With the help of Google Maps Live View (highly recommended) we found the Piazza San Matteo and then Piazza de Ferrari, where we were intending to have lunch.
Church of San Mateo
Piazza de Ferrari (no Ferraris in sight!)
Linda at lunch in Piazza de Ferrari (they had gluten free focaccia) The pesto was wonderful!
After lunch we got on the Blue (coast) line of the Hop On bus. This took us past some of the same places as the Red line but also went out along the coast. The Blue line stop was also closer to the cruise terminal.
Columbus flower beds in honor the unknown soldier. The ship beds will be planted with flowers soon.
Christopher Columbus Statue
We are back to the ship and ready to sail to La Spezia, where we will hop on a bus that will take us the Florence tomorrow.
Looks fantastic Bill and Linda. Isn’t Pesto from that area? so yes I bet it was amazing! And I do like you “travel on your stomachs” 🙂