Genova: day 3

City

Ugly outskirts / Oldtown with wide Avenues and narrow – and I mean VERY narrow! – alleyways with 6 or 7 story buildings on each side, sometimes fat wooden beams squeezed in- between them / beautiful Arcades

People

In 3 days we only saw 3 overweight people (maybe it was the same guy we just saw 3 times?) / stylish dressed, wearing effortless put together elegant outfits with matching shoes, belts and purses in the same color / leather shoes because sneakers are for people 25 or younger / no bras / tattoos / silk, lots of silk (Genova is famous for its high quality silk production) / lots of school classes either going to the beach or a museum, all the kids wear the same hats 🥳 / smokers everywhere / people talk on their phone – AirPods everywhere / not many tourists

Food

Pesto and focaccia are traditional foods from Genova, delicious meals, according to Ted, coffee is served in small cups in Italy, according to me, coffee is served in big cups in the US, I found my new favorite coffee drink: Marocchino

Fresh pasta with pesto

Animals

Dogs, lots of dogs, therefore lots of dog poop 💩 that the store and cafe owners try to handle, usually with a bucket of water, pigeons, we even saw a pigeon next to a street musician (violin), moving its head with the rhythm of the music

Streetmusic

Many musicians and singers in Oldtown, a boombox for background music and off they go, a trumpet player playing Italian songs, a violinist with classical music, another trumpet playing jazz, a Ukrainian singer and 2 Italian singers – great acoustics throughout the alleyways!

Genova: day 2

We finally found the American consulate! No wonder nobody knows it, it is well hidden, almost like a rash under your armpit. No flag, no sign, no obvious security. It is a one-woman operation, charging $200 for a notarized signature.

We entered this building…
… just to find this on the wall in the lobby
3rd floor, long hallways, no signage, just numbers! No wonder nobody knows they exist!

Oh well, on another note we had fun for the rest of the day: floating through the narrow alleyways of Oldtown, staying hydrated as good as we can, eating delicious food, shopping (my favorite) and people watching (Ted’s favorite). Life is good!