Day 85 of this cruise had us back in Italy, this time in Genoa. Located on the Gulf of Genoa in the Ligurian Sea, Wikipedia says Genoa has historically been one of the most important ports on the Mediterranean: it is the busiest city in Italy and in the Mediterranean Sea and twelfth-busiest in the European Union. We can believe it.
We didn’t have any tours planned for today, so we paid the 10 euros for the city shuttle bus to take us to the waterfront just outside the old city. The area had all the trappings of a modern tourist area with the Aquarium of Genoa, the largest aquarium in Italy, serving as the main anchor of the area. Also on display was the Galleon Neptune, built in 1985 for Roman Polanski‘s film Pirates, We briefly looked into the local Hop On Hop Off tour, but did not find it a good value for area covered (and it was packed). We also considered the petit train, but again, it was packed with people, so we settled for walking along the waterfront and taking in the sites.
Sue was still feeling the effects of the respiratory illness, so boarded the bus back to the ship while Dan set off to explore. Walking the narrow streets and stairways of old town, Dan made his way up the hillside to the city scenic overlook. Apparently there was also an elevator and funicular available to the viewpoint, that he discovered after the fact. Coming down the hill, he visited many of the must-see sites including, Genoa Cathedral, the Palazzo Tommaso Spinola, the Porta Soprana Gate of the old city walls, as well as other notable landmarks of the old city. He covered just over 5 miles before catching the bus back to the ship just as it started to rain.
Random photos from today may display truncated. Click photo for full view.
