Places We’ve Loved: Genoa

When Blonde and Brunette planned our trip to the Cinque Terre and the Italian Riviera we scheduled a stopover in Genoa. We expected Genoa to be exactly that – a stopover, not a destination.

As is our habit we bumbled into town in a small car strewn about with our possessions hoping we would be able to find the Hotel Bristol Palace where we had reservations. As we were arriving on a Sunday there was very little traffic in the city and we miraculously didn’t have our usual difficulty finding our lodging.

After gladly tossing the keys to our traveling shack to the parking valet we registered and went to our room so we could also make a mess of it.

The hotel had a beautiful staircase and an old world feel. It did not have a dining room that was open that night, only a small bar with a couple dejected smokers lolling about so we sought a dining alternative.

Staircase in Hotel Bristol Palace (we took the elevator)

The desk clerk told us there weren’t a lot of options on a Sunday night in that area but suggested a restaurant by the name of Zeffirino. Although we had some trouble finding the place (it’s tucked away up some steps off the main street) it turned out to be a real jewel. We didn’t know at the time it had been established in 1939 and had served luminaries such as Frank Sinatra, Sophia Loren and Pavarotti. And now they were serving Blonde and Brunette! Talk about moving up in the world!

We both had pasta with pesto. It was unbelievably fresh, tasty and so good it was pesto porn for the taste buds.

The next day was the only one we had available for seeing sights in Genoa so we promptly got in a cab and asked the driver to take us away from the main attractions to the famous Staglieno Cemetery. The driver wasn’t familiar with this landmark but willingly looped us through Switzerland and Austria in search of it. We were finally deposited near a rather dubious location which did indeed lead in to the cemetery.

We wandered about making inappropriate remarks and largely failing to appreciate the monumental sculptures. Somehow we ended up on the roof of a lowish building and could not figure out how to get back off it. This conveniently coincided with a drastic increase in the day’s temperature. We began to ponder our own rapidly approaching burial requirements but somehow found a way to inelegantly clamber back to terra firma.

Statue of Faith, something we were sorely lacking in standing in the beating sun on a roof.

It was a time to consider more traditional, less morbid, attractions. Fortunately, Genoa has many. And they were a few blocks from our hotel. Oh well, someone has to help taxi drivers make a living.

We headed down to the waterfront to get some lunch and explore.

En route to the harbor we passed the Piazza di Ferrari where, to our mystification, there was an installation of Genghis Khan statues. Wasn’t this the city where Christopher Columbus was born? Why were we looking at this dude who apparently had something to do with the citizens of Genoa abandoning and setting fire to their city in 1308?    How about a perky statue of someone a little more, well Italian? No explanation was provided and we cared more about getting lunch than getting educated (a  persistent issue with us) so the mystery remains.

The Genghis Khan meets WTF sculpture display in Genoa.

After eating we took a boat cruise of the harbor. Genoa is a huge working port that has also made room for some interesting attractions for visitors. From the boat we saw the Genoa Aquarium, one of the largest in Europe. The aquarium opened in 1993 and more than a million people a year visit.  Although its outward appearance looks like stacked up freight containers, which is a bit odd, inside are “virtual tanks” where you can hear waves, currents and echoes from the sea (even if you haven’t been drinking).

The harbor also has the Biosfera which is a mini ecosystem in a dome. Whose life can’t be made richer by experiencing one of those?

Genoa waterfront – some of the Biosfera is visible on the left.

For exceptionally trusting visitors to Genoa there is a crane-like apparatus known as The Bigo (not the same as “the big O” but could maybe cause one) which provides panoramic views of the city or panic attacks for people afraid of heights.

The Bigo people dangler in Genoa’s harbor

After our harbor cruise we enjoyed walking in the historical areas along the sea and wished we had allowed more time to spend in Genoa.

Didn’t label the picture at the time – may be Genoa Strade Nuove — a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Even if it isn’t, it’s very cool.

Unfortunately, we encountered one of Blonde’s former boyfriends hanging off the front of a boat and took that as a sign that we should leave as scheduled and not extend our visit. We have had to leave a lot of perfectly nice places for the same reason.

Blonde’s former lover who had always refused to honor the rule of “No shirt, no shoes, no service”.

If you have the opportunity to visit Genoa give yourself more than one day to explore its charms. And,  if you can find out why those odd Genghis Khan statues were there, please let us know!