We Have Walked 500 Miles, and We Will Walk 500 More.

Genova, Italy

As cruisers, we walk a lot. Whenever we land in a port, we don’t have a car at our disposal, so we walk until we find what we are looking for, be it a marine store, a restaurant, a bus, or a train. We are used to walking, but when we landed in Genova, Italy, our walking took on a whole new dimension. When the boat needs a new water pump, you find it, so we walked five kilometers to pick one up. And then we walked ten kilometers back – we took the scenic route. Fifteen kilometers before noon. We spent the day walking, until about 9:00 pm. But we really saw Genova. Had we just strolled near the marina, we might have thought that Genova was a rough, tired old city with little to offer. But our unplanned walking tour showed us something much more.

The old streets of Genova are lined with giant palaces from the 1200’s. The families that lived in them, until recent times, have now converted them into hotels, museums and offices.

We were able to tour one floor of one of the restored palaces and were amazed.

During our walks we came across the Arco_della_Vittoria (the Arch of Victory). It is an imposing structure located in Piazza della Vittoria and is dedicated to the Genoese who fell during the First World War.

After spending a few days walking around the city, we decided to walk around Boccadassi, a small fishing village just outside of Genova.

It was Friday afternoon, the boats were put away, and everyone was down at the local bar on the bay for happy hour.

We would have joined them, but our Italian is still very limited, so we enjoyed dinner at one of the restaurants overlooking this quaint village.

Our Next Boat

While walking around the port we came across a great pirate ship, maybe a replacement for Berkeley East? The cannons would come in handy to fend off pirates or overzealous customs and immigration officials.