We disembarked the cruise ship late the following evening, and to everyone’s relief and satisfaction we caught a taxi to our lodgings. Our accommodation had fallen through so we had had to book a place at the last minute, which actually turned out to be quite nice, and in a very good location. Our apartment was 8 floors up, which Dad and I would often decide to race then collapse at the finish line, even though there was an elevator. The man who owned the apartment spoke very good English, and gave us a list of attractions to visit during our stay.

The first of which was an elevator, which took you up to a hillside with a park (called Spianata di Castelletto meaning flattened castle, referring to the now dismantled castle that used to be there). We were greeted with an expansive view out over Genoa and a beautiful sunset. On top of the hill was a very well known gelateria called Don Paolo, so even though it was quite cold we found ourselves munching away at their signature flavour (which is hard to describe since it was unique like many of them, which are all in house made).

After arriving the sickness I mentioned in the previous blog post really started to kick in, so I was out of commission for a few days. After feeling the pressure of needing to go see stuff and do touristy things every day, this was actually a welcome excuse in a way. So instead of doing big long trips, I did short walks exploring the old streets of Genoa near where we stayed, which were like a maze. They were narrow and seemed to follow no sort of order with streets going off in every direction, and each shop looking very similar to the next.

One such walk my parents dragged me on was quite the disaster (my parents enjoyed it of course). My Dad had got some sort of walking tour map from the tourist office, and was having a lot of trouble making head or tails of it. He might say differently, but we were most definitely lost for most of the journey. Eventually we ended up outside the maritime museum, which is what I believe Dad was trying to navigate to, or perhaps (more likely) he decided that that’s where we were heading once we had arrived there by mistake. He tried to go and take a closer look but a stern police woman stopped him and warned him that he would be trespassing (you could only visit when the cruise ships berthed), so we left pretty quickly after that!

A major highlight of Genoa were the churches, which I’m going to go ahead and say are some of the most beautiful in world. From the outside they all look quite plain and unassuming, some just a doorway with the rest of the building disappearing behind others. Then once inside they are absolutely breathtaking and look like they were designed by God himself. No expense was spared in any of them; marble columns and floors, gold leaf trims, semi-precious stones set into the walls, frescoes, 10m tall paintings, grand statues and huge alters: the FULL nine yards.

In one church we entered an older man approached us (who turned out to be an amateur historian) and asked if we would like a tour. Hesitantly we agreed, and he proceeded to give us a fascinating historical account of the church for an hour, as well as explaining many things which would never have found out from Google, such as the stories behind all the paintings, where all the materials came from (such as the expensive French marble) and pointed out many of the smaller details (like the lapis lazuli accents in the walls, and the bomb damage from the war).

We enjoyed the tour so much that we decided to go to another church the following day which he also volunteered at, and he offered that he would give us a tour there. When we arrived he wasn’t there yet, so another man gave us a tour until he appeared. This church was also quite impressive, and had some quirky stories. There was a coffin in one of the chapels, which is said to have a man who is merely sleeping in it (and has been that way for hundreds of years– I think someone should really buy him an alarm clock), a secret passageway behind one of the chapels and a room decorated with skull motifs, in a very fancy, tasteful way. Downstairs there was also a museum with paintings and relics, which he also showed us around. Overall it was the most positive experience of our stay, and we were very grateful for the hours he spent chatting with us.

The final destination on our list of things to do was to visit the Palazzo Reale (Royal Palace Museum), which was built for the Balbi family in 1618, and houses a lot of original furniture and architecture. Apparently it is modelled after a palace in Versaille but isn’t as good, which didn’t bother me since I’d never seen that palace, so this one seemed great. It was of course very grand, with room after room filled with ornate paintings, chandeliers, lavish furniture and even a throne room with a crown atop a fancy shmansy chair. My favourite room was the hall of mirrors, that was (you guessed it!) lined with mirrors, as well as statues (including an interesting one of Cleopatra being bitten on the nipple).

And with that, thus ended our time in Sicily and Italy. We had a great time, especially enjoying the food such as the aranchinis, gelato, pizza, pasta and so on, the architecture, the scenery and the warm manners of the Italians. Next stop France, where we would be spending 6 weeks in Nice!