Finale Ligure to Genoa (3km walking, 70km by train*) (Fit Bit – 13851 steps)

Genoa – Day Off (Fit Bit – 12984 steps)

Genoa is a big bustling port city with abundant evidence of its long history. Some interesting points: It is the birthplace of Christopher Columbus, who is described by Wikipedia as “an Italian explorer, navigator, and colonizer”. Marco Polo was imprisoned here after returning home to Venice to discover that it had been taken over by the Genoese. Polo used his time in prison to write about his travels. Genoa’s emblem is St. George’s Cross, which is also the English flag, having been adopted by England and the City of London in 1190 for their ships entering the Mediterranean to benefit from the protection of the Genoese.

Highlights of the city for us were the Via Garibaldi (a UNESCO heritage site), the Porta Soprana, the 12th Century Cattedrale di San Lorenzo (an unexploded English WWII bomb lies by the nave), and the lavish 16th Century Chiesa del Gesú, with its two paintings by Rueben. We also visited the grand old stock exchange building which houses the post office. The visit to the post office followed a decision to reduce the weight of both our backpacks by sending home items that no longer seem as indispensable as we had thought!

And, of course, there is the food and wines!Foccacia and pesto are from Genoa. Paul had chestnut pesto last night and we were told that locals eat foccacia morning, noon and night.

The espresso in Italy is of consistently high quality, 7.5 + (but nothing yet to eclipse Discovery of Victoria or Moja of North Vancouver!)

*distances by road or walking on Google Maps used as a proxy)